A Tale of One
by Yllibas
Summary: A fan fiction based on the world of final fantasy xi. There are some characters taken directly from the game and others that were created. Each of the chapters were written with considerable time between each. The later chapters are more polished.
1. Chapter 1

_All of the foreign names such as San D'Oria, chocobo, etc. were taken and credited to Square-Enix's Final Fantasy XI. _

**The man in red needs no introduction.**

A barrage of sounds rained into my ears; the clanging of metal against metal from the Knights and violent roars from the Orcish tribes. In all this chaos of the senses, footsteps were coming towards the door; soft footsteps, but steps of haste and hurry. The door of the chocobo house slammed open and then was quickly shut. The figure peered out the window cautiously as if running from someone, or something. I could not see the figure well enough to recognize, but I did recognize the shape; the shape of a man. I yelled for help, "EH! Agg.. hey!".

The man came running towards me, "Ylli! Its good to see you, but then again you don't look too good my friend."

The man, I recognized him, he was Machiavelo, a red wizard of San d'Oria, but a long time friend from sharing the same linkshell. His hair was a dark brown, dirty with dust from battles fought. He stood about six foot, more or less, he was a hume afterall. As a warlock he embraced the fantastic red tabard, boots, and feathered chapeau of a veteran Redmage. Machi always put on a happy face, even at these times, and I could see it in his brown eyes, he was excited to find me, a friend, in all the havoc and I was glad as well.

My eyes widened more as I was glad to see a comrade, but I was met with a sharp, throbbing pain in my head, "Ahh! Machi!" I complained, "Bastard orcs smacked me with something." My friend's face looked concerned as he saw where an arrow had struck my right forearm and how something had injured my cranium.

The magician was just one moment from an incantation, but as he began, a dark-smoking projectile that had taken the form of a sphere had burst through the window from the courtyard outside. This smoke bomb, as it may possibly be, was hurled into the room shattering the glass and with a disruptive thump, gravity had fulfilled its course and the smoke hit the floor intensely as it cracked the wooden floorboards below.

Machiavelo stopped his spell to turn his back to look at what had happened, "It's a gobblin bomb, get down!" the redmage shouted at me. And with a blink of an eye, the wizard had finished a quick spell. The bomb had gone off as the solid edges slowly came apart with bright fiery extravagance bursting from its deepest depths and as if in my mind's dream it exploded in a hazy cloud of fire. His focus on magick was quickening and in a strange mumbled tone he started another incantation. His skin had inherited a stone-like characteristic in which it absorbed the explosion's atomic waves preventing them from ever harming us.

_I cannot recall what happened after that explosion. But when I woke up…_

"Stupid Orc!" the familiar voice of the redmage cried as I regained consciousness. My leg felt as if it was going to burst into a thousand little pieces and my head rang with a sharp internal noise. The stables I lay were now just half of what it was. There was a big gaping hole in the house, the roof top was ripped apart and blown away; one side of the the corner that I lay was missing and the wall in front of me, holding the door into the stables, was now totally gone, but one little piece stood. I saw the red Machiavelo fight with sword in one hand, and shield on the other just outside of the chocobo house. Three orcs were hot in pursuit for the battered mage through the tunnels that lead to the stables and a small goblin ran past the orcs holding onto his seared rear end.

His cape was charred and ripped, his scarlet boots attained a smoky gray shade, and his tunic was stained with small blots of blood, red and blue of the beastmen's inner liquids. Behind him were two orcish corpses. His brilliant gold blade was slicing and dicing through the air frightening the fleeing goblin, but the orcs came into sight and still ran and yelped their Orcish Warcry. The duelist, with a series of moves ran towards the enemy, dodged swiftly to the right of the first orc, repelling his enemy's attack away with his shield, and now the unagile green beast was open for an attack on its left flank. In a quick flash, the blade had made its way deep into the side of the first orc and Machiavelo pushed through and out of the crackling spine and as the blade tore open the orc's back, it smoothly zipped through the next orc's chest with a sharp sound that gushed before the orc could even react to the incoming hume.

As I got up and made my way up to what was left of the front wall that used to hold the door, there was the last orc, it was bigger than the first two and had carried some heavy equipment. It bore what looked to be a fur insolation under its dark brown armor and its helm was broken at the chin revealing its terrible jaws. Its mouth was drooling under the rusted helmet and between the armor its open skin revealed scars of past battles. This particular monstrosity has raided the town before and now it returned to finish the elvaan city of Sandoria.

Machiavelo's body stiffened up and he was ready. He began to cast his last magick before the orc could get to his position. His skin, again turned to stone, but again with quick spell casting, his sword turned aglow with flames. The orc was in full speed now but with a step back the beastmen's opponent directed the elements towards him. In a flash, the earth had risen out of the ground accompanied by bricks that have crawled off the walls, the orc was tackled by stone. He was successful in making a mark; a thundering crack in the face, but this orc was persistent, shaking it off, it kept charging. Now Machiavelo pulled up his shield, readied his stance and held his sword over the top in defense. The orc's overpowering strength bashed away the Redmage's blade with its axe and then came down on the shield with a swing that was rebounded away. The mage was backed up but recuperated and now he was on the offense with a strike towards his enemy that had missed the spot. Still, the Redmage kept attacking with his flaming blade, swinging left and right, shoving closer and closer to the beast, as the orc backed off cautiously not knowing that this hume had so much intensity. The mage had finally cornered his foe and then, Machiavelo bashed the clumsy orc's axe out of the situation with his shield. The hume went in for a stab, but the orc's brute strength was too over powering for the mage and using its body as a weapon, the great beast tackled the mage. The steaming blade entered the orc's chest, stabbing and eviscerating the organs within; thick blue from the orc slowly drained out. The orc made an attempt to rid of this pesky human, it rammed himself, with the Redmage, into a wooden fence, breaking the protective layer of skin and the top of a water well's wooden roof. The orc, on top of the magician and with a sword resting in its left shoulder, blood bleeding out of the wound; the orc gives out a war cry of victory. "GAHH!! RAHAarg.. pathetic hoomon," the Orc said disgustingly as the saliva dripped down onto the dazed Redmage.

It rose its hulking arms over the Redmage ready to pummel. This was my opportunity to help my friend, and with the smallest amount of energy I had, I frantically concentrated a blast of chi, and shot it at the orc. The blast went true, and hit, but it didn't even leave a mark. The orc turned quickly to face me, and growled menacingly. It got off my struggling friend and ran up the ramp towards me, with a determined look on its face to rip me from my united limbs. I shook and froze, and right as the orc was two feet away the winds picked up around the orc, and sliced the big veteran beast all over, the blade in its shoulder was pushed by this "aero" and started to vibrate in its place. The monster was enraged and with an effortless motion I found myself airborne headed out of the stables and into the courtyard, six, seven feet from where I originally was. It felt as if I should of just left this life altogether, it was too painful, but the orc continued to fight and I must help my friend no matter what it took. I heard the voice of Machiavelo as I turned my head to see him chanting another incantation. The orc gave out a loud cry, it turned its back on me and was now facing the beaten mage. The orc looked urgent and ran towards the hume, jumped down the steps to crush its opponent, but the Redmage with a last second push for dear life, he accessed all he could from his body and with his quick moves, managed to sweep under the arms of his attacker while at the same time reached his blade from the beast's chest. With another quick motion, the man in red spun 180 degrees, now facing the Orc's backside, finally thrust his blade into the back of the orcish head. Great blue liquids burst out of the orc's face as the gold edges ripped through the brain, and re-emerged from the orc's nose.

The magician turned to me and I saw his shocked face in frustration looking past where my body had lay. He was struck, my friend was hit with an arrow in the lower abdomen as he was gripping the shaft in pain. I turned my head towards the tunnel and emerged from the darkness was an orc equipped with bow and arrow storming in front of me. Its mission: to avenge its defaced captain. It did not notice me and so it stood over me pulling back its bow and readying its final blow on my crimson friend. The creaking bow drew back, the orc roared in early triump, I yelled in horror as I was helpless for my friend, incapable and immobile. I turned to Machiavelo, his eyes wide looking at what may be his final resting place. The arrow shot. The bow string was released with a loud "thwack" which was followed by horrifying grunt and roar from which came from the orc above me. Looking up at the orc, I made a marvelous and miraculous discovery, the bow was not yet released, it was still in its cold hands but an arrow was plunged deep into the left side of its brain poking out of the right side with drizzling goo trailing down its cheek and dripping onto me. It fell backwards and collapsed on the ground.

I turned my attention to Machiavelo, his head turned towards the tunnel leading east and my head followed in that direction as well. Stanced with great bow directed towards where the orc had originally posted, the tall elvaan, half covered in dark tunnel shade took a step forward. His hair was a grayish white in which had covered his inner ears, hovered slightly above his sharp eyes and was held under his bone crafted helm. He was dressed in many colors such as dark green that looked like it would blend into a forest scenery and on his fingers a pair of crimson gauntlets. His body wear was lined with a dark and dirty red orange over a vast dark green which hung under a pair of heavy shoulder plates that were engraved with many spectacular-holy designs.

This savior of the moment was a well seasoned soldier and he did not have to speak for us to notice; we knew exactly who he was, the way he had equipped himself with two quivers of arrows, small pouches of bolts and bullets hung about his waist accompanying his large Bastokan crafted firearm and signature made crossbow. Yes, we knew who he was, he carried a sea-blue pearl around his belt, the same shade of blue Machi and I carried. We knew him, we knew this ranger.


	2. Chapter 2

_All of the foreign names such as San D'Oria, chocobo, etc. were taken and credited to Square-Enix's Final Fantasy XI._

**The Usual Call to Arms**

I opened the door lazily to find standing there was a great friend of mine, Nicodomsan, a skilled elvaan Samurai of Sandoria. At times people can't tell us apart because of the unpredictable antics we pull at the most absurd of times including our almost identical appearances. His hair was long black, covering a little bit of his eyes. His ears, pointy like most elvaan accompanied by his heavy far eastern battle equipment lined and designed with magnificent gold plates, swirls and layered chainmail. But standing there at the door, he looked winded, as if he was in a hurry and had been running from a ragtag group of hungry toramas.

"Ylli," he said panting heavily, "Trion has disappeared, and Prince Peauje is askin for us at the castle!"

This was all so sudden for me to believe, "Funny Nic," I replied in disbelief. But examining him again, it must of been true, he seemed as if in panic. "How the heck could someone disappear from thin air like that?" I asked.

"I have no idea. Peauje said that Trion and a select few of the finest knights in Sandy were to set sail for Bastok early this morning before sun rise, but when the soldiers looked for their Prince for orders, he was no where to be found," explained the Samurai.

"Well let's see what the other prince wants us for," I said as I walked out and closed the door to the house, still in my night robe.

The city was very quiet at this time, it was early morning and the sun had just risen. Mist set around the city and the air was a chilling degrees which had granted the tips of grass a coat of ice. Only a few townsfolk were up, those who were setting up their bazaars, employees of the Auction House, and the local Auction campers anxiously waiting on their items for what ever reasons.

As castle gates drew nearer, Nico took on an expression of excitement, "I wonder why they asked us to see Prince Peauje. When i was called there earlier, he didn't explain to me why; maybe he wants us to scout for the other Prince?" he asked psyching up.

"I dunno, I hope not, I'm too busy to go out and look for a prince at the moment," I replied.

"Haha, you lazy bum! This is a one in a million chance to do this kind of job," he chuckled.

"Don't get your hopes up, I mean we don't even know why they are asking for us."

We made it to the front door of the castle, and there were two guards at each side wearing the Royal Knight's signature wardrobe. The two permitted us through without inquiring for our identification, and we proceeded to Sir Halver standing at the top of the steps, which lead to the Royal Hall.

"Ah, I've expected you, Yllibas, and Nicodomsan," he said smiling. "This way to see the Prince please," he said as he turned and opened the door to the hall where Prince Peauje waited patiently in the center.

We both followed with no hesitation, seasoned adventurers we were and this was not the first time we were asked to assist the Royal Family.

As we entered the hall, there stood the majestic Prince Peauje with his spiritually decorated robes of brilliant white, violet and blue that were accompanied by a matching cone-like covering over his head. His face was serious and tense this time like his brother's, and his skin looked a little darker as if he ill which was not a surprise; it made sense, would you not feel sickly as well if your sibling was missing? The younger of the brother princes carried a staff topped off with a ring standing vertically up no larger than the diameter of his own head. The ring hung six or seven charms, which jingled every time he took a step.

"As you know, my brother Trion has gone missing from the city," he said softly, "We searched every inch of the castle, and even towards the lower levels of Bostaunieux, and the dungeons under that, there was no trace." The prince said holding his forehead in thought.

"He was to go to Bastok with his men early right? Maybe he went earlier? Or Maybe he went for a walk in Ronfaure?" I asked.

Prince Peauje shook his head, "No, that couldn't be it, its not like my brother to just casually go for a walk in the woods, and he's not one to go earlier or later on a mission, he's always on schedule. But in case, we'll send out scouts."

"That's odd, when was the last time you seen him?" Nico asked.

"About sun set the other day, he was retiring to his room early, he had just come home from a campaign in Windurst, hence the celebration last night," The Prince said.

The Samurai looked up, "What are we going to do then? Why were we asked to come here?"

"With my brother missing, and the Bastokan defenses being chipped away, we need you and your friend to lead the naval fleet assembled by Prince Trion."

My eyes widened and I was bolted by adrenal excitment, "You want us to lead the knights?" I asked surprisingly.

His head nodded, "Yes, your past records have shown that you two are quite capable of leading this sort of attack."

"Is this mandatory? Reward?"

The Prince chuckled, "You are never forced into anything, but… if you accept, we'll reward you with a generous amount of gil, enough to make the most successful and wealthiest of gamblers jealous."

"We'll go!" Nico said with a grin, "But, what about Prince Trion?"

"We have hired a very skilled group of Beastmasters and Rangers to track down any clues to find my missing brother." The Prince said. "Well then! Your new crew are ready at the coast past Ronfaure, I'll reward you when you get back."

The Prince had walked off past a corner holding his head. I was curious, "Hey, Halver, the prince, is he ok?" I asked.

His eyes strayed, searching for an answer until he replied, "I'm not quite sure myself, he has been ill since his brother's missing."

He then presented us to the Temple Knight's quarters where we were met with two helmed knights in vanilla and gold lined armor enclosing their bodies and faces alike. Directly across from the door way was another knight, shorter in height and more slender in shape, this knight hovered above a large grid-like map on the table for which their curled orange hair had hung. The knight above the map, dressed in the same mail as the others looked up at us walking in to reveal half a face of a woman.

"Alright boys listen up," she said with her hands at her plated hips. "There isn't much time for Bastok. We have shells, masks and claws chaining series of attacks on the city and -"

"Shells, masks and what?" Nico interrupted.

She stared at him with her one revealed eye. A cold and sharp stare that seemed to have pierced my poor friend's heart and sent a cold shiver through his spine. "Shells, masks and claws are quadavs, goblins and anticans, got it? Good." She turned her attention to me now and occasionally switching eye contact between the two of us. "The city's being bashed from the outside by the thick shells-"

"Thick sh-?"

"Quadavs." She said frustrated from Nico and my constant interruptions. "_Quadavs_ are hitting from the outside; attacking Gustaberg's outpost and camping in the hills of Zegham and Vomp. Not only are they ambushing the muskateers outside the walls, but the ants and turtles are using the same strategy some twenty years ago; slowly digging deep into the tunnels of Palborough and Korroloka. Soon they will make it to the mines and into the city itself if we don't prevent the Zeruhn seal from being broken. That seal was created as a great blockade to stop any beastmen from getting into the city and it can only last so long before it crumbles. We need you two and your troops to quickly aid the city and to accompany your knights, are a small group of our finest blacksmiths and carpenters to assist the re-enforcment of the seal. It is crucial that the craftsmen make it in piece as your travels to Bastok from our location may be met with trouble."

We had made our way out of the strange castle after the briefing and grabbed enough supplies to sufficiently fit the journey ahead. We headed out towards the coast past Ronfaure. We neared the beach and came across three battle-ready airships lined up along the coast with Sandorian knights waiting and chatting with each other and to adventurers who were fortunate enough to be assigned this task. With the Trion issue behind us, we boarded the ship and received a bundle of voices saying, "You guys are the captains?" and "Oh its those guys!" all at once.

I put my arms up to calm down the impatient knights and adventurers, "Prince Peauje has asked us to lead this operation. You boys will listen and take orders from Nico and I," I said pointing to the Samurai behind me.

"Well, I don't care where I get my orders, as long as I get to gut some shells. I'm good eh!?" yelled one of the Knights, and then in unison they all cheered.

"OK! Everyone get to your positions, and let's set sail!" Nico ordered.

There was a designated pilot on each ship, and at my call, they lit up the engines and we began to move on the waters. Nico signaled to the man in the crow's nest to raise up our Kingdom's flags. The two mystical creatures wielding crossing spears shown vibrantly and represented that which was the Sandorian flag.

A few men went to work on the ropes that were holding down the sail and released some hooks, soon the enormous ship's flag shot up and towered over everyone's heads revealing a Sandorian Emblem to mark the vessel. Shortly afterwards, the turbines kicked full speed and the "air" in airship took full shape as the enormous vehicle took flight with two following close behind. In about a day and a half we would reach Bastok, and prepare to hold out as the beastmen tried to overrun it.

I was asleep as one of the soldiers I assigned scout, broke into my cabin knocking me out of slumber. "Captain, we spotted a beastmen ship just north east of us. It looks to be a supply ship in the water below. What should we do?" he asked.

Leaving the lookout in the cabin, I ran out on deck. I stood over the edge of the ship with one hand over my eyes to block the sun, and a hand holding onto the cold steel railing to keep balance. I scanned the seas and saw a small frigate type ship with all sorts of beastmen on deck as it ran across the waves going towards the Valkurm beaches quite a few miles away.

The lookout had finally caught up to me along with the rest of the crew of knights. "What should we do Captain?" he asked urgently with a scope on one eye. "It's definitely a supply ship with three other vessels a few paces ahead of it, running to the shores of Valkurm, sir, and if we can use some of their supplies, it would be a great help."

Opportunity only knocks once, and a chance to hit beastmen this early on was opportunity knocking at my door. I looked towards the other two ships running closely beside us, and yelled to the commanders to keep pushing towards Bastok, and that our ship will handle the beastmen ahead. We ran past our other two ships, and began lowering ours to sea level. As we neared, we could hear the sounds of Orcs giving out commands, and Quadavs sharpening their blades.

We were tailing their ship now and recognizing our pursuit, the small goblins standing at the rear of the supply boat began tossing small bombs at us as the three ships ahead sped up and separated our two vessels. None of the bombs hit, but they created an explosion at the bottom of the sea throwing up large amounts of spray onto our deck and soaking the crew. The ship rocked left and right heavily as the bombs exploded besides us. Some men were unfortunate and were thrown off the side by the shaking ship and slick boards.

I turned and addressed the men, "Go man your stations to keep this boat afloat!" I pointed to a few men, "They will know the might of the Griffons!"

An idea came to me as the men scattered across the ship to perform their tasks. I ran across deck with seawater spraying over the sides of the ship causing me to slip and fall on my chest. I quickly rose to my feet and ran down to the insides of the ship to gather some adventurers as the gobblin bombing continued.

The adventurers were holding on to the insides of the ship to keep balance and some were manning the cannons. The booming sounds of the cannons bursting were deafening every second and I could barely walk straight towards the adventurer I seeked. I pointed at a struggling young hume girl dressed in green robes. I needed her skills in this moment, her ability to call forth the elemental masters of time.

She looked up at me while holding onto some boxes for support, "What do you need?" she yelled trying to talk past through the sounds of constant bombing from the goblins and cannons going off just a few feet away.

"I need you to lead the offensive onto their ship!" I called past all the firing.

She nodded willingly and followed me up the steps onto the deck vibrated by the cannons and bombs. As we got up on the deck we could see a bomb just barely miss the other side of our ship, it hit the water with a splash and an even bigger splash shot up from the bottom where the bomb exploded, shaking the boat severely. The boat leaned over, and the railing closest to us was only a few feet away from touching the sea below. As the ship rocked I held onto the railing connected to the steps leading down into the ship, but the summoner had lost balance and started to fall towards the railing that neared the water. I saw her lose her step. Her eyes widened and my hand reached out to grab hers. I had caught her, but my grip began to lose and her hand left her emerald mittens vacant. Her body flew past the side rails and into the water.

I yelled helplessly as the ship began to regain balance on both sides. The summoner's mitten was in my hand and I stared down at it as the ship rocked back and forth. At the same time, a sudden boom sound hit my ears as the cannons hit the beastmen's mast, toppling the sail a second after the girl's fall. I looked on as my crew shot at the enemy with bullets, arrows and enraged might.

About six or seven of sharpshooters came running towards me and shortly after, I ran up on deck with the green men following behind me. The deck was soaked with sea and as the goblins ran out of ammunition, the marksman lined up on deck and began to fire at the slower moving beastmen ship.

As the Rangers began the process of tearing wood from metal hinges of the beastly ship, more and more beastmen began to run out from inside their ship, not to defend, but to flee. As the beastmen ran out, a crashing from inside the supply ship rang out across the seas. An enormous blue serpent had arisen within the center of the beastmen ship, ripping through the wooden floorboards and sending orcs, and goblins flying out to sea. The serpent was about three or four stories tall, the thickness of four united galka. It had glowing blue scales all across its body that shined brilliantly in the sun. Its eyes were great and wide, about the size of a goblin, it roared loudly revealing rows of sharp teeth and the magnificent blue main swayed in the wind. I ordered the Rangers to cease-fire and ran out towards the edge of the ship to get a closer look at this incident.

The wood cracked and orcs yelled in surprise as the leviathan attacked. The mystical avatar began to send beastmen flying miles out to sea as if they denied the laws of gravity. The great beast roared in triumph and with ease, the leviathan ripped through the beastmen ship creating two halves of a sinking ship. Orcs, goblins, and quadavs were struggling to stay afloat, but with another loud cry, the Leviathan summoned a tremendous wave that hit the beastmen and their ship. The wave soared above the ocean and ran across the enemy. In an instant, the beastmen and their ship were washed deep into sea as if they were never there to begin with.

The only thing left was the great serpent, and high above the leviathan was the adventurer hanging onto long hairs of the giant beast. She turned her head towards our ship and gave me thumbs up with her naked hand signaling that she was ok.

"So much for supplies," said the scout.


	3. Chapter 3

_All of the foreign names such as San D'Oria, chocobo, etc. were taken and credited to Square-Enix's Final Fantasy XI. _

**_ENTER CORSAIR_**

_Years later…_

The sky was cloudy and mist was potent. South of the Arrapago Islands, above the Ruins of Alzadaal lie a slice of earth encrusted with ridged rocks and charred hills. The peak of the island was home to a natural beast of volcanic fury for which its howls spewed rivers of magma along its eastern walls and into the sea below resulting in a shore of bubbling steam. At the western base of this monument, hidden in shadow and smoke, was an embedded confinement in which its objective was to keep the many or in this case, few, dangerous fugitives behind bars.

Sounds of voices arguing, rattling bars of the cells; these sonic waves were the cause of my awakening that morning. My eyes widened to see the golden light streaming in from the small fifteen inch whole they called a window. Everyday that light gave me hope; I could make it out of this hell alive, but it always turned out my fantasies were just dreams. I raised my exhausted body out of the bed and sat on the edge, scanning past my barred confinement to see what was all the racket.

The cell was the size of a small room, prison bars surrounding three of the sides, and one wall along the whole corridor of cells acting like a spine to many pages in a novel. My bed lay under the window along the wall, dirty sheets, and no pillow, just a few layers of wool to protect my back from the cold stone surface. Behind the cell door, was another wall where the prison guards kept their weapons, and to the far north west of this room was a stair case leading up to the main building. Those steps were where I was man handled and brought down here after three weeks on sea with no food or water.

"Stay in there sea scum," one of the guards said to the new in mate. The guard shoved a hefty galka into the cell to the right of me.

This galka did not dress what you would expect a galka to dress like; he wore old raggedy leather pants, thin cloth over his chest, and a light pinkish-orange shirt lined with what used to be white cloths folded along the edges to resemble ridges. But what stood out most was his hat, a large galka sized, leather, full brim hat. The two sides of this head piece was folded at an upwards angle revealing white embroidery designs. Around his waist was a holster of sorts, but it was not filled with any type of weapon.

"Bloody pirates, think they can get away with anything, heh," the guard mumbled as he walked up the stairs.

The galka hurriedly got up to the cell door, and started shaking them as if trying to strangle it. He immediatly called out, "You can't stop me mate! I'll be out before you can say 'hoist the jollyroger!'" The galka turned to face me, and I looked at him with confusion. "Hmm? Somethin's caught ye' eye have they hm? Never seen a Corsair before?"

"A pirate?", I replied.

His eyes rolled, and he held his arms up in frustration, "No mate, I'm a Corsair, pillager, plunger, scourger and Master of the seas!"

"A pirate."

"I would 'preciate it if you call me a Corsair," he said proudly, and stood there head held high. "So now that's cleared up mate, what am I again?" He asked in high anticipation.

"Your an idiot!" one of the guards yelled from atop the stairs.

The pirate turned towards the stairs, "Yeah why won't you come down here and say it to me face eh?!" He turned his head back to me, as the guards above were chuckling.

"No, I'm a Corsair, mate" he said smiling, "Don't you get it? You know, a Corsair? Have ye been hit in yer head there?"

"I've been here for about four days, and the only thing I've seen is the inside of this prison."

His face expressed disbelief, "You've never seen the outside of this country? You've never witnessed the vast tides crashing along the rocks? Even the Empire of Aht Urghan is a site to see." He looked out his window for inspiration, "The empire is a great place to be mate."

I looked up at him in surprise, "Empire? Where exactly are we?"

"We're in Infierno Rock" he said. "A dungeon located just south of the trade city."

"Nashmau? We are in the eastern countries arn't we?" I took a deep breath as all this was almost too much to take in at once, "You live in Al Zhabi? You speak of it as if you cherish it much, is it really as beautiful as they say it is?"

He laughed, "Beauty? livin in that place? No! I love it because its where I get me booty." He smiled at the idea of booty.

"You two keep quiet down there!" the guard called.

He turned to face the stairs once more, "Go choke a chocobo, mate!" His attention was back to me again, "So, where yer from?"

"Sandoria" I said realizing how far i was from home.

He took a seat along the side of his cell, backed up against the bars, "Sandoria huh? That place is in the middlelands!" His face turned serious. "How did you get from Sandoria to the Arrapago Islands?"

"It's a long story, i'll make it short for ya," I said, "I was traveling on a ship… Headed towards Bastok." The memories of the ship had flooded back into my brain once again, and I began to feel sick, "…We made it up that far and… I think we were attacked, yes, we were hit passing through Zulkheim. We were hit from both sides and pincered."

Before I could continue my story the galka asked, "Where's ya crew? Surely they woulda busted ya out by now right?"

I reached under a layer of sheep's wool and pulled out a small green glove no longer home to her hands; no longer performing its task of warming the hand of the Avatars' master. I looked back up at the pirate, "I don't know where they are."

He was disappointed I was unable to provide him with a finished tale, but face became almost sincere. "Sorry if I brought up unhappy times fer ya, mate."

"What about you? How'd you get in here?"

His hands went up behind his head relaxed into position, he smiled, "Well if you have to know," he said bragging. "I was with me ship and crew right?" He said with hands held out attempting to portray images of his story with gestures resembling a small child trying to explain something to an adult. "We was scurryin' a run outta Port Emphramad and when we had lost the Imperial ships, we ran into ol' lootin' buddies." His eyes became serious now. "Those back stabbin' scurvy bilge rats! Stupid bums, the lot of em, they had deceived me and signed a contract with the Immortals to catch me. You see, they offered to celebrate the new gains at these hidden islands, but when we arrived at port," his voice grew deep, and I could tell he was angry. "We arrived at port and there they were, waiting, the Imperial Guards of the Empress, and the Grand Vizier himself to congratulate me on my new humble abode," he held his head down. "My own sea plunderers, me own brothers, turned me in why? Well, they get to be on the good side of the Empress and their records were clear and not only that! They were given mounds of booty and any booty is good boo-tee."

I mocked him, "Haha, you were turned in by your own comrades, mate." I laughed.

His face stiffened, he was annoyed, "Hey you don't come here laughin' at me, mate. I'm gonna be bailed outta here before nightfall. By sunrise i'll be in Nashm' enjoyin' me a tastey kabob with a side of au lait. Then, mate… Then we see who gets the lass laugh."

"How are you going to get outta this place?" I asked. "There is no way, cells are locked tight, guards are always checking," before I could finish he interrupted.

He got back up on his feet, and came closer to the dividing bars separating our cells. He looked up towards the stairs, then back at me. "You look like you useful, mate, now if would like to help me lift these bars, we might be able to break free," he said in a whisper.

"Lift these bars, we can't simply just lift the bars out off the ground and waltz our way out of here," now we were both whispering.

He let off a small smirk, "Oh, mate, you are really clueless arnt che." He walked towards the cell door, and knelled down. His large finger pointed to where the bottom of the bars had been punched into the ground. "See these prisons are soffer than a jelly's behind, mate. I've been to a lot of places like this and this may be my first time in this one," he said chuckling to himself. "But these barred walled as all connected, if we get a wall out, we can both be free. See these cell types are far from Bastok technology, if yur catchin me sails."

"Ok, what if we do make it out of here alive, where would we go? We have no transport." I explained.

He smiled, "There is one ship, when I was traveling pass here, a sturdy ship caught my eye, mate, this ship was calling my name. Trust me mate, if… When we get out of here that ship is good as ours."

I wasn't going to get anywhere if I stayed in this cell, so I looked at him and gave into his plan, "Ok, so, lift these bars? How would I help you lift these bars out of the ground? We're in different cells it would be difficult to lift each other's doors out from opposite cells."

"Silly pointy ear'd, We lift this middle dividing bars up first yer hear? Like I said, they're connected", he moved towards the center divider, and grabbed the bottom horizontal bar that conjoined all of the vertical bars together. Under, spikes deeply rooted into the ground. He looked up at me gripping the bottom bar tight, "You gonna watch or help me? I can't get out without your help, mate, and I'm sure you don't want any more of their poison food do ya?" he grinned.

I moved towards where he gripped the bar, and helped him lift up. We lifted and lifted, but nothing happened, the bars stood their ground. "This isn't going to work we need more leverage," I said.

He looked at me, "No we keep trying!" After a few hours of on and off lifting, we were out of breath.

I could tell he was starting question his own strength in his face, "Hmm, well lad, these bars are tougher than i thought! Haha!" he laughed. He got up and pulled out a deck of cards, he shuffled this deck thoroughly, and chose six. The pirate placed the rest of the deck back in his pocket, suddenly the chosen cards shined fluttered with a soft light; it began hovering around their master's body as if possessed with minds of their own. The galka tossed a six sided dice onto the floor, it bounced and rolled, the cube landed on a number I could not make out. Again, the cards took orbit around his big body and one stop and flashed briefly. His body was engulfed with a dark red glow and soon I was eaten by this dim light.

The feeling of this was exhilarating. I had energy once again, my eyes were gazing upon him this moment, "What did you just do?"

He looked at me and grinned once more, "Game-uh-luck mate," the pirate said as he gathered together his tools, and put them away.

"I have a lot more energy now, I'm rejuvenated by what ever just happened," I looked at him annoyed. "You didn't do this earlier why?"

"Didn't think of it at the time, haha!" he said scratching his head.

Once more we both tried our hands at lifting the bars, this time it began to move, but not enough to get it open.

"Why won't this thing budge?!" he exclaimed forgetting to keep quiet.

"Use those big hands of yours," I joked. "I think I have an idea, pirate," I suggested as the chi around me built up.

"Hey these are the best hands in the East," he said. He looked at me in amazement as I was literally shaking in place, soon I felt the energy from my body exploding outwards. "Hey buddy you ok, you look like your going to have a seizure," he said worriedly.

My eyes met his, "No, its my way of getting our extra leverage," I smiled assuringly.

He nodded his head. Once my build up was complete we once again tried our hands and lifted the bars, it began to rattle loose, and eventually we shook it out of place. The bars were out of their place now with the help of our own strengths, we rotated the bars flat, and set them on the ground before us. Finally, the two cells holding us had become one large cell.

We both looked at each other, and then quickly made our way to a set of bars holding us in. We lifted the bars up quickly with much energy knowing the fact that escape is just minutes away, or so we thought.

The bars came off similar to our last efforts. The mighty galka threw down the set of bars onto the weapons racks, creating a crashing noise that rang out and up the stairs. Voices of guards were nearing closer and closer to the stair case. Quickly, the galka reached down and grabbed a rapier from the broken weapon rack, and rushed under the steps.

"Hide," he whispered as he was readying for a sneak attack on the incoming guards.

I looked around the room urgently, but there was no place to effectively hide. I stared at the ground in front of me, and quickly threw myself onto the bars, and broken rack. There I lay in disguise, as if i had been tossed out my cell, and injured badly.

As I waited, the guards came down to see what was all the fuss. Weapons drawn, two of the sentinels in light mail came cling clanging and rushing down, one came halfway down the steps until he turned around and went back up. One guard was about the size of a galka, but he was human, an extraordinary size for his race. The other one was small, and possessed a waving tail, a mithra.

As they neared the bottom of the steps, I closed my eyes, "What happened here?" a lady-like voice asked.

A familiar voice replied, "Where's that pirate?"

"Here I am!" yelled the pirate. I opened my eyes to find myself staring at the heels of the two guards.

"Idiot," I thought to myself.

The two guards both drew their blades at the pirate ready to attack. I looked up at the galka and saw he had made his way to the bottom of the first step of the stairs waving his blade left and right. The human guard ran at him, quickly I grabbed his boots, and the guard took a tumble towards the floor.

"Thanks, mate!" the pirate said as he ran up the stairs fending off the oncoming cat.

I quickly got up on my feet and the guard struggling to his feet made a grunted sound as I stepped on him to go up the stairs. As I reached the top of the stairs I realized we were in a large building, there were desks lined up in a fashionable and organizing matter along the walls. The pirate was running towards the main hall waving his sword up high like a maniac while dodging the furious attacks by the mithra guard. Quickly I ran as fast as I could to reach them, they came to a small lobby area. The galka took a look out the window, and turned back towards the the mithra, but he paid no attention to her, he was searching for something.

"Arn't you going to run out the door, pirate?" the mithra hissed.

Still looking around the room, the "Master of Seas" attempted to grab something off a table, but the mithra's blade had hit it away. I saw where the pistol-like object had landed and began to move towards it, trying to stay undetected from the stimulated cat.

The Corsair, was frustrated, what ever this gun was, it was a significance to him. "Fine, you want to cross blade with me, lassy?" He shook his head at her, and with out hesitation the cat sprang up and swooped in for stab. The two began to swash buckle, one after another, back and forth the two would not give up until their goals have been reached.

Their blades crossed, and they began to push each other off with their weapons, "Oh, your a feisty one, lassy, I like that in a woman," he said smiling. "Well, your not quite a woman, a cat.. uh, woman thing."

She pushed off him and aimed to kick the pirate below the belt, "Why you!" she yelled missing her target.

The galka began to back off, "Wow! watch the loot, lassy, I know they are appealing, but I have to get to know one before a lass can do that." He grinned at her.

As the two were fighting, I made my way to the pirate's goal, the pistol. A normal pistol a marksman would use, this was not. This model was about the size of one's finger tip to the elbow in length and at the front tip was six conjoined barrels instead of the normal one. This weapon was a gritty silver at the handle and core with a band of dark crimson around the barrels. His eyes quickly glanced over at me, and I held it up. His attention was on his weapon now and for a split second, the mithra found an opportunity to strike the galka. Quickly, with great agility, twirling her blade around the Corsair's she reached in and stabbed at the pirate. Somehow, with shear luck, the pirate moved as if not even realizing and dodge the attack completely.

I ran pass the two fighting swash bucklers, and broke open the door to find six guards lined up, weapons drawn, and ready to attack. Looking pass the guards, I realized we were located next to a shore. I turned my back and shouted at the galka to make a run for it.

The mithra was going for blood, she began to get on all fours, and began to leap at the walls as well as the pirate. Coming off one wall, she repelled herself and held her blade out to stab the galka, but with quick reaction, he ducked under and ran out the door. The mithra had launched into a chair, and was shaken up.

He looked at me, "Thery'r the reason I left the door closed, mate," the pirate said referring to the guards in front of us. Standing in the doorway he grabbed the gun out of my hand and, quickly tossed up a card. This card was bright red with what seemed like a symbolic figure for fire em blazed onto the material. The card began to burst into flames outward at the gunmen ahead and soon afterwards, the guards were left in a sea of fiery explosion all around. "That's why I waited for me gun, mate," he smirked. "I told you I had the best hands in the East." He quickly ran pass the guards, trampling one or two as he headed out towards the sea.

We both ran and as we ran pass the guards struggling to their feet, we both gave them a toe to the face as we passed over the top of them. I turned to the galka, and called out, "Where are we going?!"

With attention to the coast, "We're going to take that ship ahead!" he said as we ran towards the beach.

I looked at him, "Were those guards part of the plan?!"

"No, but t'was necessary!" he called.

We neared the waters, and the image of a small boat, became larger and larger in view. Behind us the guards had recovered and began to open fire on us.

His big finger pointed out, "There she is, aint she a beauty mate?!"

The ship which resembled a normal-sized freighter was resting its boards in between docks, 20-30 feet out in sea. The ship was rusty was dark-brown, almost black in color, the mast stood high holding the sails in place. In reality this ship looked plain and ordinary aside from its raggedy feel; it was an old junk ship, I wondered what the pirate saw in this vessel.

We made it up to the docks and ran across the wooden boards as we were trying to dodge gunfire at the same time. Before we were able to set foot on the ramp to the ship, the mithran guard sprang up behind us and came down with a furious slash. The two of us quickly dodged the sneak attack, and once again the pirate drew out his six barreled gun.

He pointed at the cat while the barrels of the gun were beginning to be enlightened with a great shining blue. "I'm sorry lassy," he said as he shot her, but this time the effect was too massive for the wooden boards to hold. The explosion caused boards under our feet to crumble and made its way to the sea below with the feline guard alike. We quickly ran up onto the ship. "She was such a pretty girl," he said jokingly.

The pirate began to run around the vessel, set the sails, and started the motors. I ran and began to ring up the anchor, soon I felt the wooden floor boards of the ship shake and rock, as we were beginning to move out to sea.

I looked out towards the beach, and saw the soldiers running out with artillery of their own and the mithra shouting angrily with a wet hide. Soon bullets flew past our heads and into our ship. The galka ran up towards the front of his new vessel and shot another round of his powerful weapon at the beach. The shot traveled quickly to its target crashing onto the beach with a boom. The ship was too far off the coast to shoot at now, the guards all withdrew, and began to gather up.

Showing off, he quickly spun his gun around his finger and put it in its holster. "Thank you, mate, you busted a pirate out of prison, and attacked Imperial officers," he said with a satisfying smile. "You are a true pirate now."

I looked at him confused once again, "Don't you mean corsair?"

"No yur a pirate, mate, Corsairs are special pirates, and you are not there yet." he explained.

"Oi, I will never understand this Corsair, pirate, thing," I said giving up. "But after all this, all day of busting out of hell's gates mate and going through all that, I don't know your name."

"My name? Oh, I don't know your name either. You tell me first, what say, you hrm?"

"Yllibas," I replied looking out at the prison which was my home for the last few days. The building was getting smaller and began to be shrouded in shadow. I could only see the box shaped main building, which on the exterior, was a shade of charcoal. Farther along there were two burned holes along the beach where the Corsair had made his marks. I looked passed the penitentiary and looked out at the Sunset, the light that gave me hope, and realized the pirate did get us out before nightfall. "So, what is your name Corsair?"

He turned to me, and held out a hand, "Galliant."


	4. Chapter 4

_All of the foreign names such as San D'Oria, chocobo, etc. were taken and credited to Square-Enix's Final Fantasy XI. _

**-PROLOGUE-**

_Nine months after Yllibas set sail for Bastok._

The Kingdom of San D'Oria was bustling as always. With merchants proclaiming their 'Best prices,' and adventurers running to and fro in eager attempt to complete various tasks ranging from escorts to saving another lost baby chocobo. Another aspect of kingdom life, or in this case, life with auctions were the constant auction campers eagerly awaiting their most craved for items inside their poorly assembled tents made of crafted wooden sticks and canvas sheets.

One of the tents, standing at a height no higher than a dwarfed Hume, hardly resembled a tent. Life at the edge of the auction window was so vigorous that after a week of consistently waiting, the public living space, meant to last, which was in fact hardly meant to last at all after it's construction, was worn and torn on the top where the rain could easily sneak in and wake its unexpected homeowner. The creator of this catastrophe was still asleep, feet poking out the at the ends of his canvas layer, sticks, tightly warming in between the man's two arms replacing the traditional stuffed-goblin doll. The tent, without realization, had converted itself overnight into his sleeping quarters. The only difference between the matted-brown haired man's bed at home and the tent he slept on near the auction window was the presence of all the smiling small children giggling, throwing objects. Finally, the best feature of his outdoorsy getup was the fact that the news press did not have to leave a paper on his doorstep, but instead, they could just leave one by his feet as he slept, or better yet, drop the whole stack on top of him. That is what happened.

With a low thump, stacks of Sand'Oria's own enchanted-local newspaper, hit the sleeping man in the chest knocking him from his dreams. He grumbled and mumbled words not even the most experienced of goblin linguists could decipher. The man turned over in his "tent" and quickly accepted the invitation back to slumber but this siesta was cut short as the local Tarutaru, Hume, Elvaan, Galkan and Mithran inhabitants alike all reached down to grab a paper. There was much fuss as the readers read and even gasped in shock at the text stylishly published on the parchment.

Slowly and very slowly did the man in the tent awake. Just as the millimeters began to increase between his eyelids blindness struck him sharply but only for a moment as he laid there adjusting to the bright morning sun. Finally he noticed all around him, the bodies reading the paper and one body neared closer to him. This figure hovered above him, embodied by the light above creating a contrasting silhouette to the sun that blinded him.

"Hey!" the figure said. "Hey get up will you? Look at this Machi! Can you believe it?" The silhouette said with a shaken voice as he held out the paper for the man to see. Half conscious, lying in a broken down tent in front of the Auction House, Machiavelo groggily snatched the paper from out of the figure's grasp and analyzed the front page. The page started out as a worn, piece of old paper at first but the instant Machiavelo put it into his hands, words and screens phased into the page. The front was home to a bewitched picture of an unfamiliar place. The picture moved as if it were a live feed, a feed of a Quadav infested stronghold possessing charred stoned walls on its constructions. Just another story on the war Machiavelo thought to himself and he was correct, it was a story on the war but this one was different. Quickly he rose, sitting up now, hands tightly gripped on the edges of the newspaper appropriately named The Sand'Orian Slate. The front page headline read: "Beastmen take Bastok."

_**~Machi's Memoirs~**_

~Beginnings

Machiavelo was lost in thought. His good companions, Nico and Yllibas, they were stationed in Bastok. Holding onto the pages of The San D'Orian Slate and analyzing the words that read: 'Beastmen take Bastok" was difficult to digest. He could not believe it. What does this mean? Are his friends gone? Taken? Captured? Or Tortured!? Machiavelo sat on the windowsill in his finely crafted home within San D'Oria's residential district contemplating what could have happened.

As Machiavelo peered out the window, he could recognize a knight marching towards the property and still in his working apron; Machiavelo greeted the knight at the door. "The Prince requests your presence in the main hall Don Machiavelo," said the knight equipped with traditional Royal Knight Mail and emblem that hung scarlet on his chest.

"I'll be right over," Machi replied with a slight bow.

The sun was bright in the sky shining over the Auction House and square. Locals and adventurers alike bustled left and right, bumping, yelling, shouting, and conversing about what they usually discuss at this time of the day. The day was busy. But this was not the case within the castle.  
Machiavelo was invited to see the Prince, but why he thought. What would they want with a simple carpenter?  
Halver was standing by the steps leading into the main hall, as always, he would greet royal guests such as Machiavelo. The two shook hands and Machiavelo proceeded in where they met Prince Peauje for a private meeting.

"Master Machiavelo," he said. "It is truly an honor to have you here. It's not everyday I require the assistance of someone of your merit, but today, you are the only one I can count on." Peauje was dressed appropriately, like a Royal of the Kingdom of Sand D'Oria. But in contrast the Prince did not seem healthy; his voice was a slight rasp as if he was overcome with an illness. "Earlier today, you may or may not be aware, but the Republic has fallen. This is most a tragic day in the eyes of Altana. The Confederacy has pushed viciously and the forces of Bastok fought valiantly, but… the outcome was same. The Beastmen broke the Great Seal within the mines and from within, the Hume city has fallen…"

Machiavelo broke in and cut off the royal speech. "How can the seal be broken? Months ago you sent San D'Oria's greatest smiths and troops to help re-enforce it. Those craftsmen were my students, those troops were my friends! How could they have failed?" Machiavelo was angry at the disappointing news he knew he was going to hear and there was no way of preventing the emotional explosion.

After a short intermission between words the Prince spoke again. "I'm sorry," he said. "I know you must miss your friends as I miss my brother but that is why I fight and do the things I do. With my father lurking ever so closer and closer to the heavens…It is difficult to keep on. But Don Machiavelo, this is a time of need… what I tell you hear is top secret…Tonight I will address the people. As the last eligible member of the Royal Family, I will send the Kingdom down a path of glory! I will declare war against the Beastmen forces and with that, eradicate them from our borders. Yes, we were already sending troops to assist Bastok, but now, it will be different, mobilization of the Royal Knights and Temple Knights in addition to the Reserve has begun. The Construction of the new fronts are being readied as we speak. San D'Oria will be the savior of Vana'diel. I ask you, will you be there tonight when I address the people? I need your support Don Machiavelo."

Machiavelo was shocked at what he had just heard. The Prince? Authorizing a full war front for San D'Oria? "Prince, San D'Oria has not participated in a full scale war for several years. We do not have enough troops and you have seen what has happened to the Republic; if we do this we cannot do it alone."

"A council held in Jeuno is being prepared for the near future. Once again… the Allied Forces of Altana will unite. Except… we will be banded together under the crimson flag of San D'Oria; you will see. If you love this kingdom, you will support me will you not?"

"You've gone mad… I will not support your decision. If you want to do something then go send a team to Bastok and find my friends! What your doing is not helping the Kingdom, your sending us to our deaths!" Machi paused as the grin of Nico appeared in his mind next to the cheering face of Yllibas. "I will not lose anymore of my friends to this cause, no more!" Machiavelo stormed out of the hall.

"You are turning your back on your own people!" The Prince grew furious and shook his fist at Machiavelo. "Do not walk away when you are spoken to!"

Machiavelo returned to his home. And shut the door, not only to his house but to the Kingdom he once believed in.

The moonlight lit the night sky and the Kingdom was a hue of blue. The residential district was quiet and still, the northern walls rang with no vibration, the cathedral was a soft hum, the port was closed and the fishermen were all done with their shifts. All was still and quiet… but far south, the bustle and cheering of the people could be heard from the plateau beyond. The Prince was making his speech to the people.

The oak home of Machiavelo was quiet and dark in and out. A shadowy hooded figure silently made its way up on top of the roof. In an instant, the shadow made it inside of the home, but created no such sound a Hume could hear. Inching closer and closer towards the hallway, the shadow peered left and right searching. Door after door, the shadow searched. But finally, the last door opened quietly revealing a dark room that held a beautifully crafted bed. Within the blankets and sheets was a bulge as if a person were sleeping. The shadow figure slowly creped its way near the foot of bed and stood over it. It raised its head in satisfaction and with a whisper the bed was aflame along with everything else in the house.

Outside of the gates, away from the festivities, away from the crime and controversy, the brilliant scarlet chocobo and its matching master made their way through the forests of Ronfaure and towards La Theine Plateau.  
_  
-Machi's Memoirs _


	5. Chapter 5

_All of the foreign names such as San D'Oria, chocobo, etc. were taken and credited to Square-Enix's Final Fantasy XI. Credit to my good friend Tog for editing. _

**_A GROWING DARKNESS_**

The vessel gently rocked to and fro as the waves crashed softly onto the boards below. Galliant was at the helm of the ship navigating through tides all the while maintaining an eye on his map for a steady course towards the mainland of Aht Urghan. The night quickly crept up on us after a long day of scuffling in and out of prison, resisting arrest and assaulting imperial guards amongst other things.

I was leaning against the sides of the ship; elbows on the rails watching the sun light die out and fade beyond the waters. 'What am I going to do now?' I thought to myself.

"Where are we headed specifically" I asked.

The Galka did not turn to face me. "Towards the mainlend! But not too far in as to we'll get into truble. A good sea-mate of mine just so happens to live on te coast. That's where weer headed," he said as his eyes were still dead focused on the sea ahead. "Long time buddy of mine. Even when we were just lil' pups -grew up in Jeuno together. I grew up as an orphan… alone in the city until I found good ol Pat. He was same age as I, he played lots of music, instruments and such we had a good time with those old junks outside of the Minstrel… But anyway! That was a long time ago, we've decided to sail the seas when we got older and here we are!" he called out to the dark waters.

It was late in the night and the ship dropped anchor. We stayed afloat for the remaining portion of the night resting ourselves in the cluttered mess within. We slept inside the ship, a bunk for the each of us as we were finally out of the penitentiary and free at last. Free to do what we wanted, free to talk amongst ourselves without the shouting of a warden to watch over us. I liked this freedom.

"Haven't seen my pal in a long while…" Galliant said lying on a bunk to the right of me about eight feet away. "What about you? You must miss your friends?" the Galka's voice stopped before continuing with another question. "Ah, I'm sorry mate, I didn't mean to bring up rotten memories again."

I was staring at the bottom of the bunk stacked on top of mine, thinking and wondering within my mind as to what to say, how to reply to a question. I surveyed myself the same question and even then I could not come up with an answer. What did happen to my friends?

"It's ok. I'll tell ya what happened. What I can remember. You've helped me so much already. I think it'll be good for both of us if you heard my story." I said.

_10 Months Ago…_

The Republic of Bastok was made ready for war by it's leaders. Held at the top most ramparts of the city walls, the high-powered, highly advanced cannons were armed and ready to fire at an instance notice. People were not as bustling as usual, with the city under siege for quite some time by the Beastmen Confederate, the towns folk have been in a state of emergency and marshal law enacted. Under the direct command of President Karst, domestic supplies were being reserved for those serving in battle resulting in a reduced number of supplies for the citizens. Also note that the commercial use of Teleportation Crags have also been revoked from the adventurers as transporting to a crag would result in more casualties as each destination is controlled by the Beastmen. Not only was the trans-dimensional way of travel prohibited but the Airship Travel Agency also closed all its doors except for those authorized by military personnel. The Airships of Vana'diel were recalled and are outfitted for military purposes leaving one of the most traditional ways of travel available, Chocobo.

The Markets were less busy than usual and the Mines grew into its own metropolis consisting of Galkan and Sandorian engineers frantically developing a new mechanism to reinforce the Seal in the tunnels. And at the top, Head of the Department of Special Projects and Advanced Technologies was none other than Cid. His team worked day and night constructing, demolishing and reconstructing a new Seal for the tunnel that would withstand the force of a joint Antican and Quadav attack, in theory

The Steaming Sheep Restaurant was a hollow body at this hour of the morning save for a couple of chefs, a waitress and two vagrant souls with cups of coffee.

"Hey Ylli… how long have we been here?" asked the samurai sitting across the table from me with his hands cupped around a hot cocoa-based beverage.

"About ten days" I said weary from the early morning. The coffee hadn't kicked in.

Ten days…" he said with a sigh. "Ten days here… and you know how I feel?" A pause ensued as I looked up at my friend. "I'm starving and I'm getting tired of all the Bastok slop and the stench in those mines are just unbearable! Not to mention I hardly had a good nights sleep with all these patrols and watch shifts. Why are these Beastmen attacking now? Thirty years after the war of old. What could they possibly want with us now?"

"All I know is that what they're going to get is a whooping worse than what an angry Mithran can give. That's for sure. Remember when we were just students in the Guard and Instructor Boss always told us of how the Alliance of Altana overcame the Shadowlord and his Beastmen? That's going to happen again…minus the Shadowlord part," I replied.

_  
8 Months Ago…_

Within Zeruhn Mines were many smiths, from Elvaan, to Galka, to even the TaruTarus and the feisty Mithran breed. Appearances and shapes between them may differ but they all shared the same task of reinforcing the Seal. Cid was poised and with arms crossed about his chest, he shouted commands and orders among the craftsman. The Seal began life as just a simple gate connecting the Mines to Korroloka. But in times of war, the small bridge that ran over the small-underground river was demolished to be replaced with enormous doors that latched onto the earth on all sides of the tunnel. The Seal's construction began as a block of iron between the Zeruhn Mines and Korroloka tunnel, but now the works of a second "block" began. Not one door, but two doors, one at each end of the old bridge -one to block the path heading towards Korroloka and one to block the path going out of Zeruhn. Each door sealed its respective tunnel with its own Mithril crafted latches, gears, and locks. This way of sealing the tunnel left the middle path open for water to run between each door so if the Beastmen were to break through the first seal, there will be another seal to penetrate past the waters. But, in this world of Vana'diel, monuments such as this cannot be due without a proper incantation of protection; a spell of binding that will give another layer of strength to ward off the hordes. And this process of placing a magical seal was only a month away according to the plans of Cid. The re-enforced Seal was looking better and better by each day but with the Confederacy's forces attacking in small groups through the mines the question is "will the Seal hold?"

_  
6 Months Ago_

During my time in Bastok I met many of my old friends again. Shiroken was one of them, a human fighter for the Republic and a hero to the people. Shiro was almost always caught wearing his berets that sat firmly atop his messy brown hair which represented his position within Bastok's forces. Shiro, to his friends, seemed a sort of mystery, an enigma of sorts. At one point he would be smiling faces with his blue eyes and then the next moment those same eyes would convert into a stern mystic's and he would be ready for combat at a moments notice. A true soldier.

During my time with Shiro, which was often cut short, he was with someone, a female hume. Her name was Rosa. Beautifully dark-haired and proper mannered woman with a playful humor that would often light up Shiro into his best moods. Her hair was straightened down to her shoulders most of the time I seen her, and she would laugh and smile her bright teeth and lips -this made all the other guys jealous of Shiro, even me. I've never seen him so happy in all of the years I known him. This relationship did not come without pain hardships however. Shiroken assumed the role of the Captain of the Mythril Musketeers when Volker retired and Rosa was the Prime Master Caster that was the lead caster placing the magical incantation upon the Seal. Shiro told her it was often too dangerous deep within the Mines where the Seals were constructed for Rosa and her group to be chanting magic. There were previous attacks in a smaller scale at the mines before and he did not approve of her being down there; maybe he was just over protective? Rosa disagreed and saw no harm in the Mines; they were sealed after all. Shiroken wanted to be there for the final placement of the Seal's magic layer, but incantations as this were not to be interrupted and one false focus could result in a restart in the spell. Rosa assured him, "Think positive" she would always say with a smile and Shiro would always agree. But Shiro never trusted Bastok's technology after a terrible accident costing his and our friend's life.

Five years ago, Kile, a great swordsman and a great friend died on an Airship flight from Bastok to his homeland of Sandoria after he, Shiro and Machiavelo trumped the Quadav King of Palborough with the help of Mikamaru, a resident TaruTaru Combat Caster of Sandoria. The ship's turbines were flawed and eventually failed causing the vessel to plummet to the ground. Shiroken was sent into a period of depression and emotional breakdown. He could not speak. Never in his life had he ever lost someone so close to him as Shiro grew up with just his grandparents which passed when he was at a young age until he drifted into the Republic's Militia as a teenager and then placed into the Guard where his life took off. After Kile died, Shiroken demanded Bastokan Airships to be recalled. With Rosa, the Seal and the Beastmen attacks so close, Shiro did not want to risk it again.

_3 Months Ago…_

"How's Shiro?" I asked.

Rosa kept walking towards the mines looking onward. "He's ok but grumpy as ever. He really does not want me in Zeruhn or remotely close to the Beastmen territory. Typical guy," she said with a smile.

"He's just looking out for you, but maybe he is over doing it a little. I mean, what are you doing in there with the seal anyway?" I wondered.

"My team of casters will place a seal upon the… seal…"

"A seal on the seal?"

"Yes, a seal on the seal." She said as she giggled at the words. "The process will take a couple of hours, but the end product will be an impenetrable force. The combined forces of the best craftsman, Mithril materials and a layer composed of Windurst's top casters, its Invincible."

I looked up at the sky in thought and replied "I hope so."

_Later that night the Moon was full…_

The night was calm and the Musketeers were at the top of the ramparts, stalking the Gustaberg plains below. The moon lit the night sky to its fullest and all of the critters that were usually out at night were out of sight. Hiding from the lunar rays and hiding from the hordes to come.

An arrow flew passed his head, whizzed and struck the ground in front of his path in which he ran. One hand at his waist, grasping at the tight handle of the katana, he ran and moved as swiftly through the dirt as possible to the gates Republic. Glancing behind him, he spun 180 degrees and sliced the wooden arrow in half in one motion, he spun back around and inched closer and closer with every step, towards the Bastokan gates.

The gates flew open with a flash of blue light given off by the warrior in a mail crafted only in the Far East countries. Nicodomsan made it inside. He was met with a Musketeer, Shiro, and I. He was panting and it seemed as if he would never stop, but that was the case. He fell forward to the ground with a great thump revealing three arrows dug deeply in the back of his chest plate.

"They… they're coming," Nico muttered with pain. "My… my company has been," he coughed and tried to get up but was quickly reassured to stay where he was. "They're all dead."

The hairs on the back of my neck rose from the sound of a low sounding horn that turned into a shrieking noise that could be heard from beyond the gates and beyond the river. The horn of war was blowing and we were not the ones behind it. Following the horn, was a boom, as if an explosive was lit in the middle of the mines. Many people rushed out of their homes in horror and made refuge in their underground safety thresholds.

"Rosa!" Shiro cried as he made haste towards the mines.

I turned to the Muskateer. "Take him quick to the infirmary!" I ran after the sprinting Shiroken and left Nico for the Musketeer to tend to. The sirens within the city rang loudly and like a colony of insects rushing to defend their habitats the Musketeers ran to their stations, metal clashing against metals as Bastok's militia came to life in the night.

We ran into Zeruhn and were met with shrouded smoke and dirt, it was difficult to see anything or where you were headed. Eventually we came into a clearing that was home to one of the first Seal. It was open as the magic was not yet placed on it just yet so we continued past it and made it along the banks of the underground river. The second Seal, placed on the other side of the water was beginning to show weakness. A banging was growing louder and louder in the middle of the door as five hooded casters stood their ground and continued chanting the incantation of protection upon the Seal. The seal banged and boomed again and again until the chanting and the pounding became a ballad for a calm before the storm.

"Rosa!" shouted Shiroken from across the river. "Get out of there! It's not safe!"

Rosa stopped her chants and turned her head towards Shiroken and at that moment, the spell process shattered between the casters and the beastmen's obstacle became much less of a chore to surpass. "Get out of here now!" she yelled as the Seal burst from its earthen latches pouring out with a small army of Antican troops bows twanging and blades clanging. They rushed out and engulfed the casters in rage. One by one the mages were disembodied leaving only Rosa and with Shiro and me by her side, even then we were out numbered. As the horde rushed us with their beastly might, shots rang off across the river and ran into the thick-plated Antican shells. This was our chance, we ran for the other side, for the other seal. The Beastmen flooded into the river and made their way following us to the other side, swiping, roaring and shooting at us with all their tenacity. But then it all stopped, the enemy ceased their attacks and stood their ground as if awaiting orders. Rosa slipped towards the rear end of us and stood in the back line. At least, that's what I thought.

With a satisfying click, the Seal behind us was shut. Rosa shut the last Seal on us. Shiro turned his head to look at her and his eyes were bulging from his face in shock and amazement. He was petrified at her action.

"R, Rosa?" he asked.

"I'm sorry Shiro," she said.

I must be dead already I thought, but no, it was worse. At first I heard his voice, the familiar stern voice, the same voice that led the attack against the Quadav King with Machiavelo, Shiroken and Mikamaru in the past. It was Kile's voice. Suddenly the Ants that surrounded us dispersed and opened up permitting a humanoid figure of dark robes through. Standing no more than two meters away in a large black cloak that stretched to his ankles, Kile removed his hood revealing pure white coloration of hair and a tone of paleness to his skin. The pupils in his eyes were a faded gray; I could not believe what I was seeing.

"Thank you for your assistance Rosa," he said with a grin.

Shiro, in horror, turned to face this figure that embodied the features of our friend Kile. Shiro stood like a stone.

"Yllibas… Shiroken…" he smiled. "Long time hmm… Now you must be wondering why oh why… your dearly beloved has shut the door to your freedom, to your lives? Well, she's a big girl now she can speak for herself. Go on now."

"I… I did this for you, for us Shiro," she said reluctantly.

"Tell him about our little deal Rosa…" Kile said amusingly.

"I just wanted to keep you safe!" she fell to her knees and sobbed into her hands.

"Women!" the dark specter said. "Oh for the love of- Here I'll just give it to ya now."

I could not take it anymore; this was all too much for me to digest at once. "What the hell's goin' on here?!" I yelled. "Kile, is that you? What happened to you?"

He sighed a cold breath and pierced me with a sharp stare. "Ylli, Ylli, Ylli… when will you ever just shut up?" In an instant my body was flung against the Mithril Seal by some form of the dark arts and I discovered my current disability of immobilization. I could not move or speak for that matter. Forced to watch the scene before me helplessly.

"Kile! How did you-?" Shiro exclaimed.

"Now where was I…?" He put a finger to his head in thought. "You must be wondering how in the world am I not dead? Well, that's an easy question to answer. You should ask the Prince of Sandoria for that answer, he's the one that brought me back you see… Little Peauje isn't so little these days with his brother in an Astral Prison and all… With his help, the Beastmen forces will reunite and bring upon a new age. An age where separation is non-existent. Everyone will be under one flag… the scarlet emblem of Sandoria!"

"Sandoria? What are you talking about?!" Shiro was frustrated with confusion.

"The Prince and I think alike. Peauje has made a pact, a pact with the God of Twilight. The Beastmen have united under the order of yours truly and the Prince himself. Soon, the three nations will be united as one and then again united with the Beastmen forces to conquer the world! No one can stop me, not even the Royal Guard. One by one the Guard will fall, you, Yll, Machi, Zero, Nic and even our dearest little Kida, everyone. Shiro, I may be dead, but then again I've never felt so alive."

"You're insane! The other nations will never side with you!"

"Course they will. A council meeting in Jeuno has been established to take place only a couple of months from now. There, they will see that the Beastmen forces have been uniting again and attacking. Just like in the past, the Alliance of Altana will be formed, uniting under one name, but this time. This time it will be different. The Archduke of Jeuno is no more after that last incident and with a new and inexperienced Duke, a beaten Bastok and a soon-to-fall Windurst, the Prince will assume commanding leadership of the Alliance."

"Who are you!? You're not the Kile I knew! Release Yll and what did you do to Rosa?!"

"All she wanted to do was save you for when my Beastmen took this dirty city down in flames… Let me tell you a secret… In thirty days… Bastok will fall. Count on that and after the Prince and I do our dirty business, he'll die as well under my hands. You should really be thanking your little Rosa, Shiroken… She loves you and what she's doing is protecting you from harm… If you come with us, if you join us, join me, you will be safe, though that choice is yours…"

Shiroken turned to Rosa. "Rosa, you didn't have to do this! I would have been fine. It's you I worried about! How could you side with this fiend?! He's going to wipe out everyone in the city and your just going to stand there?"

Rosa's face was in a river of tears as she looked up at Shiroken. "I'm so sorry. I don't want you to die. I'm sorry," she wept.

"Oh how touchy…" Kile responded with a smirk.  
Shiro began taking steps towards Rosa and as the space between them reduced he was stopped in his tracks. His arms, legs, chest, head were locked just as I was but his mouth was free to speak. His eyes remained glancing back and forth between Rosa and Kile.

"She loves you Shiroken. Why don't you get it? What she did was for you… She loves you… just as I loved Mika…" his voice grew serious. "Remember Mika, Shiro? She was with us when we invaded Palborough."

"It couldn't be stopped! We did our best to protect her! Wasn't our fault!" Shiro pleaded.

"No! You and Machiavelo were too greedy to see her in need! You let her die! I was aware of the rivalry between the two of you! I know what you did! Liar! Murderer! Now you will experience the torment and the anguish that I have had to bear these long years!" He faced Rosa and with a quick movement she was also locked in astral bindings, unable to act. Her eyes wide with fear, he neared Rosa moving sleazily behind her within personal space, his hooded head rubbing against her cheeks. His eyes shot directly at Shiroken's and smiled. Kile drew his cold blade. "Did you do anything when she was being man handled by that turtle?" Raising his blade, he began engraving the Master Caster's delicate skin with the tip of the steel. "What did you do when Mika screamed for your help and when I was trapped behind the bars?! You screamed back like a three year old cat! You were petrified and scared. You were debating whether to save her life or yours weren't you? Coward."

"If you want revenge then kill me instead! Leave Rosa out of this!" the warrior angrily yelled watching the the steel-tipped brush waving upon its human canvas.

Shiro shut his eyes in terror from such swordplay. His cheeks were glistening with tears. "I'm sorry. I was scared. I did not know how to act then… I'm sorry Kile…" He looked up as Rosa screamed his name. Shiroken felt a knife go through his heart as the blade of Kile, the blade of once his lost friend, plunged deep into the chest of Rosa. The astral magic broke as the body fell to the ground before him. "Why?! Why!? Damn you! Kill me already!"

"Death is an easy way out. You do not deserve any easy escape routes. Your sins will be paid through the pain you feel every time her face appears in your mind. Goodbye Shiroken." With a hand gesture a troop of Anticans carried the petrified warrior away back towards Korroloka.  
Kile turned to the Seal where I had been placed like a painting in a museum. "As for you Ylli, your usefulness will not be wasted. When the time comes you will be called. Until then, you are Yllibas no more. No one will know your name, your merits; the Kingdom will be no more. Locked in a cage of hell across the vast seas, you will be banished from the mainland as an exile. Your name will not be tolerated here, I'll see to the Prince that will happen."

_Present Day on the Vessel…_

"After that," I said resting in my bunk, arms behind my head. "It's all pretty blank."

"Brilliant story," the pirate nodded. "Well, time to hit the sack." Galliant rolled over in his bed to my surprise.

"Wha? That's it? All I get is a 'brilliant'?" From him, I was expecting much more of a reply to my tale.

"Course. A great story indeed, but if yoar sayin' the truth. Then we need lots of rest for tommorow morning."

"Right right, but what's your friend have to do with what happened to me in the last year?" I asked, puzzled.

"We need lots of rest for the journey ahead, for the pots of gil I'll conjure," he muttered sleepily. "Think of the excitement, the thrill and the booty I can snatch in Sandoria!"


	6. Chapter 6

_All of the foreign names such as San D'Oria, chocobo, etc. were taken and credited to Square-Enix's Final Fantasy XI._

_This was not editted. I just wrote it._

RELIVING and RETELLING

It burned that night. The fuse of the explosive powder-filled barrel was lit. The spark ran up the small thread and eventually disappeared inside the object in which at that point, the projectile took flight. It shot up scorching the night sky, ripping through the clouds and making its way into the heavens.

There were many faces in SanDoria that night. Humes, elvaan, galka, mithras and the cute tarutarus were all present in many shapes and sizes baring personal titles of mother, father, daughter, son, brothers, and sisters. There were also innocent children running around enjoying themselves without a clue of what was about to happen. What was going to happen? Suddenly the crowd's attention shifted from what they were doing to the bright light in the sky. Some placed their hands over their eyes to shield themselves from intense brightness, others just stood there, jaw dropped in awe.

The rocket-like tube burned brightly in the blackened canvas that was the moonlit sky. The sprinkles of starlight vanished, the moon shown no more, the clouds were obliterated, all of the elements that created the night were destroyed by this explosion of light. If one were to be standing in the depths of Ronfaure, one's ears would be drowned by faint cries and explosive pops coming from the inner walls of the elvaan capital. It was a terrific illumination, a masterful use of explosives and art. The sky was filled with magnificent shades of sparkling, sizzling color. The barrel exploded, the people of SanDoria cheered for the first day of the Sunbreeze Festival. That night the Kingdom of SanDoria's sky burned.

The night had gone by, the fireworks had ceased and the majority of the city was asleep. But those who had a tradition did not. Those including young ones, no more than 10 years of age up to the most seasoned of adventurers. Those including tarutarus and mithras that have traveled through the Meriphataud Mountains to see… The galkan mine workers and their hume counterparts traveled to SanDoria to see… To see, to listen, to feel and to experience the excellence of SanDoria's greatest hero and his tale, his tale of One.

The scarlet tiger. The feathered flame. An Honorary member of the Temple Knights as well as the Carpenter's Guild. These are just a couple of titles he was given during his prime. If you were to meet him just 10 years ago he would of come off as just another loyal adventurer to her kingdom. But similar to many people of that time, the war shook Vanadiel as well as the individuals in it. SanDoria's hero was no exception, Machiavelo was no exception.

The clouds disappeared revealing a clear night filled with starlight. The chocobos were asleep along with the entire city except for those who have gathered to listen to Machiavelo speak. He wasn't one to really boast about his legendary experiences or even share them with complete strangers but it could not be helped. What began as a mere bedtime story for his son turned into a local event every year after the first night of the Sunbreeze Festival had ended.

They were gathering pass Rosel's shop, pass the blades of Halbort. These people were at the Lion Square huddled up in Lion Spring's Tavern. At center stage was Machiavelo. At the age of 40 his face featured a slight wrinkles but he looked the same as always with brown, focused, yet assuring eyes and a head of dark hazel. At this time of his life he has settled down, married a beautiful hume girl who he had met in the infirmary during his time in the war and he also has a son who shares the same youthful adventurous and strong willed nature of his father.

There were children sitting on their mothers' laps, older kids sitting together on the bottom steps near the cavern's stage. Littered about the cafe were many adventurers at tables with drinks, conversing and ready to hear the famous tale.

A group of children about the age of 13 were sitting and chatting together on the steps near the stage. One was a young mithra with a lovely sundress and a cute bow on her hair. Another was an elvaan girl with magnificent white hair and next to her were two boys. One boy was hume wearing a familiar red hat in which a brilliant white feather shown brightly on top. Beside him was a very small tarutaru with a cap too large that fell over his eyes at times.

"My mom says that your father's stories are the bestest, Ty!" said the small tarutaru holding up his cap in excitement. "Say Ty, I read about the war in one of my father's booky-wooky. How cool would it be to go toe to toe with the scary-wary beastmen!"

"It would be fun, Irwaku, that's for sure," Ty, the hume boy, responded.

"And it will be even more awesome when we defeated them," a young galka said as he swung his arm in imagination before sitting beside the tarutaru. The three boys began chatting about how "fun" it would be to defend their nations like their elders once did 10-20 years ago.

The two girls giggled amongst themselves at the boys. "You guys are silly you know that," the elvaan said. "If the war were to happen now I would worry to death about you guys. Wouldn't you Nihno?"

The feline glanced at Ty without him noticing. "Yes I would be awfully concerned… especially for a certain someone…" she said as she nudged Ty with her tail. "A special boy very close to me…" Nihno tried hard to gather the eyes from Ty but he was clueless and lost in imagnination with Irwaku and Steelie, the galka. Her blood boiled because the boy was so immature she thought. "Ty!" she wanted to yell but did not want to upset the adults and so she sat crossed for awhile before standing up.

Finally Ty turned his attention to the upset Nihno. "Nihno," he said politely. The cat's ears jumped and her hope was lifted once again as she shyly faced the hume waiting for him to say something sweet to her. "If you're going to get up could you get me a glass of pamama juice please?" Ty asked unknowingly.

Nihno shut her eyes in frustration and steam began to flow out of her ears as her tail stiffened up and she gritted her teeth. "How is he so clueless?" she thought to herself. She reached for the nearest drink and transferred it from the glass through the air and onto Ty's face with a "splat" sound. "There's your drink mister!" She growled in triumph!

The adults chuckled while boy soaked in juice wondered what had happened as Irwaku and Steelie laughed. Sophie took Nihno and sat somewhere else to discuss what 13 year old girls discuss.

"Ty," Machiavelo said from the stage. "Stop fooling around. How could you spill a girl's drink all over yourself like that?"

"But!" he wasn't able to finish while his father was speaking. "Dad!"

"I taught you how to be a gentlemen, Ty so please behave," the hero smiled.

The boy took teasing from his friends but eventually were motioned to be quiet as the story was about to begin.

Machiavelo sat in a chair on top of the stage with a desk in front of him. On this desk was a very large tome with many extravagant pearls and designs. He brushed off the hard leather cover and opened up to the first few pages and looked up at the crowd. The stage lights dimmed enough to show the magician on stage but hid the background in black.

"We are all friends here," Machiavelo said. "Look amongst yourselves. Elvaan, galka, tarutarus, humes and mithra. At one point in history our nations were divided until the Shadowlord showed us that divided we were all too weak and so the Alliance of Altana was formed. That was well over 40 years ago. I was not apart of that history but unfortunately war still caught me. 14 years ago there started another war. The war that nearly erased our Bastok brothers from the world. The war that nearly destroyed the history of Vanadiel. The war that took our family, our friends not just to various places of the planet but to the underworld as well. That war hammered my loyalty to the kingdom so far down that I left this city for eight years. That war took me to the east. That war was The Astral War. I was in search for the most important people in my life. And when I arrived at the beaches of her empire I didn't know what to expect. But that day I laid my eyes on the luscious and dense woods of Wajaom I knew that my life was about to change forever… The Twenty Years War united the middle lands. The Astral War united VanaDiel."

As he spoke great magic filled the stage and illustrated the darkness with colors and images corresponding to what was spoken as if the stage was a visible dream.

Machiavelo continued. "This is not the story of me, but of people. People like you and me trying to do the right thing. I knew real heros. And I can safely say that I am not one of them. Machiavelo is not the name of a hero. A hero's name resembles the sound of "Kida," or "Kile" or even "Shiro." A hero's name is written with the letters that spell "Tog" or "Cae." This is the story of the two Prince Griffins in their pursuit to uniting the world. That was the Astral War. You say I am the greatest hero? You are mistaken. I knew- I know the greatest hero. This is his story. The story of "Yllibas and the Griffins."

_11 Years Ago…_

The hume man was knocked to the floor by a strike from the sword's hilt. His dark plates of mail were battered and bent from the long and exhausting confrontation in the dense forest at night. His face mask was cracked and could no longer serve its purpose. The young knight's bladed scythe was broken. His dark eyes and ruffled hair was a mess with dirt and sweat. Groaning he tried to get back up as the galka stood by him trying to get a clear shot of the enemy. He stood alert, tail still, hat firmly on his brushed back black hair, jacket and slacks no longer resembling the brown leather it's supposed to. The Immortal Servant dressed in imperial uniform blue charged the two with a blade ready to for the finishing blow. He jumped into the air and came down with the tip aiming for the galka. The trigger was pulled and the hexagun's barrel lit up from within. A thundering explosion shook the woods out of place as well as the birds and after the smoke had cleared, the shrubbery surrounding the area was disintegrated from the corsair's devastating firearm. Where was the he? He must have been hit right? No way anyone could of survived or evaded that shot thought the gun wielder.

The galka looked down at his injured friend. "I'm sorry friend. I was saving that shot for him for months now. But I had to use it to get rid of this one. Though I hope the impact didn't harm you anymore than you already are."

The knight, one eye able to open, he mumbled playfully. "Watch where you aim that thing pirate," he coughed. "How many times have I told you? Aim first, galka."

The stillness of the Wajaom did not last long for the two as the earth beneath them lit up and soon they found themselves in the middle of binding spell. The ground began to glow with a series of symbols and characters of astrology locking the pirate and the knight in their place. Glancing around themselves, their eyes could not discover any person but the Immortal Guards of the Empress appeared standing around the astral bound circle.

A guard spoke. "The hume on the ground… your charges against the empire are treason, evasion of contract agreements from Salaheem's Sentinels, and assisting in the robbery of Imperial Treasures."

The hume knight proudly chuckled to himself about his charges on the ground, mocking the authorities. "That's three charges for me," the knight said before a cough.

The guard spoke again. "Galka, your charges against the empire are treason, evasion of contract agreements from the New Vizier, Naja Salaheem, robbery of Imperial treasures, escaping imprisonment, ship theft, running illegal casinos, breaking and entering… and finally trespassing on the Royal Palace without permit.

The galka laughed. "That's more than you," the galka grinned at his friend. "And Mister Blueberry sir. The houses I break into are empty, if that helps." He grinned. "Also I always wanted to sleep in a palace for once so that's why I-"

"Cut the chatter seascum."

"Oh, he's pushy."

The guard continued to speak. "You Galliant Shield of the Republic of Bastok and you the one they call Tog are both hereby arrested by the Empire of Aht Urhgan."


	7. Chapter 7

_All of the foreign names such as San D'Oria, chocobo, etc. were taken and credited to Square-Enix's Final Fantasy XI._

_This was not editted. I just wrote it._

CHAPTER SIX: HIS EMPIRE

Developed over time high in the clouds, it came racing down; ripping pass every rough breeze, soaring right through the blackness. A small yet life-altering piece of magic, nature, and science. Where was it headed this small being? Its natural explosive and final destination was the middle of Balrahn's Way of her glorious empire of Aht Urhgan. Here it will carry out its natural objective and split itself along the path of all it had the opportunity to reach. It's descended now. Flew pass the top of the Grand Palace, pierced through between the tree branches gathering others along with it and finally it dropped. It hit the ground, in the middle of the city. It's molecular shape twisting, rearranging, stretching across the slick stone surface splitting into equal counterparts no longer whole. The puddle in which this small droplet of rain landed rippled for a second before other droplets joined the small body of water. The clouds shuttered and flashed itself as the skies hurled thunder and lightning, rain and wind down to VanaDiel and down to the city.

Her Empire of Aht Urhgan was still, compensating for the lack of steadiness in the weather. The minerals that which formed these mountainous plates of earth were met by the fierce spray and splashing of foam from the sea's mighty waves. The tiny droplets of refreshing rain poured down on the White Empire creating vast clouds of sparkling dots in the stormy sky. The water left puddles that which were pummeled by the oncoming showers resembling a hazy sizzle on the outlines of every object.

There were many folks hiding in their respective homes, many adventurers lodged up in the rental houses and more homeless individuals taking refuge under the nightly covers of the Pit and Colosseum. Wait, did he just say "more homeless individuals" as if there were less before? Well, yes, the conditions in the White Empire were a little harsh those days. And I'll tell you why.

The Aht Urhgan Empire faced several challenges over the pass decade. One of which was the fierce war with its neighboring eastern countries. But when those battles finally ended so did the lives of royalty and honor. The SkySerpent General Rughadjeen as well as the Empress herself passed away during that final battle. Many people felt that even when Aht Urhgan won, it was still a loss with so many casualties and deaths. Since the Empress' death she has been hailed as the savior of her people for finally ending a war that has been raging for many generations. But with the no more head of the empire, the remaining imperial advisors and officers made a choice which was strongly influenced by the teachings of the Walahra.

The absolute command of the empire was given to a young boy no older than 13. But it was not just an ordinary boy of course. The Temple of Walahra have kept this boy under safe housing, teaching him and watching him grow. This boy was special as many locals often teased the boy for being spoiled or overprivileged. Many were jealous, "How could they just hand the keys to the city to a boy?" they thought. At the same time they knew it was fate. The people of Aht Urhgan believed in the teachings of the Walahra just like you and I pray in the Cathedral. Walahra Prophecy says that "When the savior and the skies are blacked out, a new light is born under the hero's name." The savior is gone, the empress. The sky is no more, there is no more General Skyserpent. So the hunt for the hero was given a green flag.

At first they did not believe it when they found him wrapped up as a baby boy. They didn't believe he was the descendant of the great Balrahn himself. But as Tzobahn, the boy that was miraculously found crying in the Walahra Temple one night, grew, he showed excellent personality. Naturally intelligent, skilled in combat and was always popular with young girls. At the young age of nine, he unknowingly snuck into an Immortal training facility and survived all of its obstacles and torture which included several monsters for experimentation and study. The Immortal Captain Cae discovered the boy lying unconcious there, severely bruised but not fatally injured. This displayed the boy's outrageous adventurer spirit and natural survivability. It wasn't until about the age of 12 he was recognized as the next emporer of Aht Urhgan by a desicion made from the remaining four Genereal Serpents, the Immortal Guards, the Walahra Temple and eventually her people. There was so much despair after defeating the eastern countries, the people gave in and they needed something to hope and believe in. The people of Aht Urhgan, the former Empress' spirit believed in Tzobahn.

However the rightful age to take throne was 16 and so there were three years in which the empire was run by Tzobahn's advisors. The boy had many. One source of governing tips was the Walahra Temple, another was the ever sharp Captain of the Immortals, Cae and the Serpent Generals. That left two ranks unfilled; the fifth serpent general as well as the Grand Vizier. Those of you that have studied would know that Grand Vizier Razfahd fell to the might of the underworld itself before the prime ruling of the empress. Now that that's clear those two spots have filled over time with two magnificent elvaan mercenaries from a far land away from the White empire's shores. These two men did not just simply fill out an application but earned their roles through a sheer display of courageous merit and intellectual combat as well as diplomatic strategy in which involved several defensive efforts against the beastmen hordes.

The latest addition to the Serpent Generals, light-hearted and honorable, the Shadow Serpent Railion D Orableauant along with his companion, the newly hailed Grand Vizier served as direct instructors to the young Emperor. These two officers were often seen as foils to eachother's personas and egos as they argued and bickered a lot though always sharing the same high respect for one another. The Grand Vizier showcased a bit of a shadowed personality, a bit dark and intimidating in which Tzobahn always secretly called him the "Creep Vizier." This new leader of the military forces, spoke little but when he did speak a soldier would often feel a sense of seriousness and unhesitancy. The Immortal guards in which he also looked over feared him as he even nearly murdered one during a training excercise. If General Railion was the approachable one, that left the Vizier the dark and distant one. He never took his mask off in public, keeping his identity secret. The only people who knew his face was Captain Cae who knocked the helmet off during the previously mentioned excercise and Railion. Tzobahn often looked up to Railion for his gentleness and steady mood while having difficult times communicating to his Grand Vizier and right hand man.

That was the situation of Aht Urhgan.

The moonlight emerged behind the thick black clouds as it neared midnight. It was late in the night. Shops, stands, bazaars all passed the same message, "CLOSED." The natives to her empire were fast asleep, the Immortal guard always at watch, the pirate descendants committing to selfish pillage and smugglers, well, smuggling. All of the beings under this one night sky that shone brightly beneath its stars and clouds. The moon was full and like every full moon, tales of a beast was whispered among townsfolk, at least that was only a myth to scare small children to bed. But she could not sleep tonight.

A hume. Held up in her cell, the imperial cell located underneath the grand palace behind the excellent Whitegate, she sat in a corner hands resting at her sides, limp resembling a fierce serpent hiding in the brush waiting to strike her foes dead. Her brilliant blond hair that which hung down to her neck was now clumped by sweat and dirt gathered through her journey from the middle lands to her destination now. Her wears were worn, though if closely examined, pass her shirt, she possessed a finely crafted light mail of chains that enclosed her body from the waist to the neck leaving her bottoms to be protected by a pair of dark emerald slacks.

Sounds from the corridor filled her cubicle. These sounds resembled laughter, but not the type of laughter you'd hear from say a celebration like our Summer Breeze Festival, but laughter in mocking terms, a broken laughter of mischievous matter.

In the dark haze that was a cloak for her surrounding area, she could only see a silhouette of what looked like a hume figure clanging his way closer to her cell. As these figures drew closer she noticed there was a larger object behind this hume, a galka in size. It was a galka she thought to herself. Tog and Galliant reached the face of the cell and peering into it they were greeted with a pair of cold, steady eyes fixated on them. Her stare gave them both a feeling of reluctancy to enter the cell. But the two pirates had no choice, the azureous guards had them under a strict bind magic. The two were tossed into the cubicle and locked away like a dark secret.

Unshaken by the event, the woman's eyes were still fixated on her new jail mates as both eventually gave her a glance. But she spoke lightly. She spoke resembling a young woman who has spent years seasoning herself on the battlefield, yet her tone of voice faintly reminded you of an innocent and pleasant creature she used to be.

"Name's Galli, nice to meet cha," the galka greeted her holding out his enormous hand with a great smile.

The woman only looked at him, unresponsive and shut her eyes.

Still holding out his hand Galliant paused and felt a little disappointed that his greeting was rejected or even worse, unnoticed. He then turned to his friend. "You're an official corsair now, mate!" the pirate said in sarcasm as his tail made home to the corner opposite to the woman.

Tog sat with his back resting on the face of the cell, where the door was. His legs were gathered up with his arms resting on top his knees, face buried in fingers. "Galli… how are we going to get out of here? It was a thrill before we got in here, but now that I've realized I'm in actual imprisonment I don't think I will be able to handle this."

Hours passed and as the hours passed in this cell, a little bit of Tog's sanity passed with it. Eventually he became hysterical with streams of drool on his chin, singing folk songs of old and whistling nonsense. His galkan friend attempted many times to calm the knight but refused for the sake of entertainment. This fiasco led Galliant to a roaring laughter and the hume woman was becoming annoyed of the two's idiotic demonstration.

The woman could stand it no longer as the full moon rose to its peak height in the sky. Clouds ran pass the moonlight unveiling a darker shade of the city at which that time, the small cell grew darker for a couple of moments. In this time she sprung at the hallucinating, claustrophobic Tog. Galliant was too slow to react and by the time he made it to his friend, only a few meters away, the moon reemerged from the cloud's cover. The dim light of a full moon was shining again. The light in the cell grew back to regulation. His neck was gripped in between just one of her hands tightly. Tog felt like he was being strangled and choked by a kraken's fierce tentacles. His body was stiffened, standing, and pressed up against the bars behind him. He could not move as he stared into the eyes of his attacker. A strange woman with young complexion no older than he. She was pretty he thought to himself as he suffocated holding onto his neck trying to release this woman's hands. Tog gave a faint smirk and winked at the girl as his drool glistened. She was ready to strike him with her other hand as it was fisted. Her fist flew through the prison airspace and like a small fish swimming into a large net, the galka caught her with ease, holding her. Galliant noticed on the sleeve of this woman a patch of red resembling a familiar signa of griffons. The woman released the knight.

Chuckling to himself, Tog sat as the galka slapped him gently on the cheek. "Ay nutso!" Galliant called to his friend. It had no affect on the nearly knocked out Tog so he had only once choice. Galliant often did not like to use his galkan abilities but this was time to settle down, he had enough fun with his hume friend. The last time he used the technique he used it on Yllibas. The elvaan often had a bad case of sleepwalking and so one night Yllibas was about to sleepwalk off the deck of their ship. A Galka's strength can only go so far to stopping an elvaan but Galliant had to go far, so far he called upon his signature technique. This technique was magical in which it dispelled many harmful effects from a person, including sleepwalking and hysteria. And so Galliant, in the small cubicle cell, grasped the face of his drooling friend and with a heavy thump to the head, Tog snapped out of his trance.

Shaking his head, Tog came back to his senses. "He's back!" the pirate said excitedly towards the woman smiling wide.

"I'm- Ouch!" the knight exclaimed holding onto his head.

"He is easily susceptible to claustrophobia," the galka told the woman. "He does this from time to time… You should of seen it when we tossed him into the…!" The irritated woman sat back down and didn't pay Galliant any attention. "…barrel… yeahh…" he said as he lost heart. But the galka remembered that badge on the girl's sleeve. "Say, girl, that patch of red on ya shirt. I've seen it before. You're from SanDoria aren't you? So is he," he pointed to Tog. "But he left his ranks, Ha! When I told him about life on the sea without restrictions he came runnin' you see!" Again he realized she didn't care any at all about his ramblings. "What are you in here for?"

She seemed to glance at the galka and the hume boy when Galliant began to speak of SanDoria. Galliant was always great with communication, he had a knack to get information out of people without them even noticing. And she was no exception. Her voice was stern, serious. "I was jailed here for trespassing into the palace… it's been two days since I was thrown in here by those foul sentinels."

"Were you sleeping in the palace too?" the Galka asked.

"I'm looking for the Vizier," she said without any hesitation.

"We're after that bastard too," Tog chimed in.

The galka nodded. "We've been after him for a year now… He owes us a few apologies. What's your story? Has that traitor elvaan lied to you as well?"

The woman looked at the galka in the eyes. "I'm going to kill him. He stole a piece of my life. That's all you need to know."

The galka sat back arms folded while Tog began to reminisce. "He betrayed us a long time ago. He was a man I trusted, he wasn't always like the way he is now. But once he saved the Empress he was deemed a hero. You give some one enough power and they change for the better or worse they say. But I don't believe that mumbo jumbo. I that no matter what happens, no matter what you do. You can't change who you are. Galli and I are going to find him and try to change his mind about things. That traitor, I still don't like him, but a part of me still wants to save him."  
Galliant nodded in agreement.

"You're in luck. In two days I'll be executed. They'll probably bring you two also," she said.

Galliant's eyes opened up with excitement. "Where's the luck in that?"

"He will be there. I'm going to kill him then."

Tog was shocked more about what this woman has said than his own death. "I won't let you kill him until I speak to him first."

"Speak all you want. His abnormal ear size won't hear anything you have to say. That's enough of this chatter," she said as she shut her eyes.

"Two days," Tog whispered to himself under his breath. "Will we be dead by the third day Galli?"

Galliant did not respond. He was planning, thinking, wondering. His plans will finally come full motion when he comes face to face with the person he's been searching for many months.

Galliant, Tog and the woman in the cell was all asleep soundly as the Moon was just headed back down to the other side of its orbital route. The people were all asleep in town as well as the guardsman in charge of watching the three criminals. It was only moments before the sunlight would spread its rays across and warm the earth and its inhabitants like a fur coat over a young child in a winter night.

Galliant was awake. He looked around at his peers, still in slumber and dream. The galka glanced ahead pass the bars and into the darkness that led to the empty, dimly lit hallway. All was still and noiseless. This disturbed him. Staring farther down the hall he could not make out any recognizable visuals, just all shadows of an empty hall. He heard it again. The sound that had caused him to awaken earlier. It was a faint sound. The rattle of objects, boxes, or keys maybe? The light shuffling of footsteps and bodies. It was faint, very faint. The noises stopped. It must of been a guard scuffling about Galliant thought. And so he shut his eyes again, relaxed. A shriek ripped through the hallway suddenly and rattled the insides of his cell suddenly awaking all of them. Tog, backed away from the front gate of the cubicle and stood pressed against the wall with his back next to his friend. The woman stood unusually, and she displayed a face of anxiousness.

The shriek disappeared as fast as it appeared. Keys rattled and jingled as slow thumping foot steps made its way into the dark hallway in front of them. A guard? No it was not. They knew this as the sound grew heavier and closer, the smell of freshly torn open blood filled their nostrils and tickled their hairs upward. Another thump occurred as a dark figured dropped in front of them. They could vaguely see it but they saw the shape. It was the shape of a man. A motionless body that now lie on the ground before the three. But what was the other shadowy figure? The figure that was standing. As it lurked its way closer to the cell, its final appearance was revealed.

A tall being. Hairy in every way. Covered by a fur coat of gray, black, and brown, it stood about a foot higher than Galliant. Its arms and wingspan would be the size of three to four orcs across. Its hands were the as big as small taru children each with five very sharp fingers. The same goes for the bottom half of this creature. Muscular, yet slender. It's garment's were torn as if it had broken into them literally with dark violet clothes along its top and ripped shorts of azure. It's face was outstretched like a hound's with gnawing teeth and fangs, drooling from tongue to chin. Eyes deep red that which seemed like you were staring into the dark lord himself. All of this monstrosity was covered by a great brilliant, almost beautiful mane about its collar, puffed out and ready to showcase its strength.

One foot clawed straight into the back of the dead guard, it peered into the cubicle, sampling the scents of his new found prey. The prey of the legendary Dark Wolf of Wajaom.

*****

Machiavelo's black robes were pulled over him along with his loose hood. Knocking on the door to the stone house located deep within the White city, the wooden door opened up. The wizard was greeted and welcomed in. He was met by two young men and a young woman. These three were related, brothers and sisters they were. Her two older brothers often looked out for her and she often kept them from fighting all the time.

The eldest brother, offered Machiavelo a drink and a seat while the younger one took his coat and offered the magician a pipe while both brothers felt each others rivalry boiling up in a competition to please their family friend. This eventually led to spilled chai on the table after fierce argument occurred between the two.

The young lady kept her composure unlike her brothers and poured Machiavelo another cup. "They always get like this when we have visitors Mr. Machi," she whispered.

"Well, maybe I should settle them down?" he suggested.

They both looked at the two boys bickering like two kids fighting over a stack of toys; dishing out blames on who caused the spill and who Machiavelo favors more. "I kind of enjoy this," she giggled.

"I think we should stop them while they are still without blades, Samantha," Machiavelo said chuckling.

With his index finger placed directly on his older brother's forehead. "Your chai was too bitter anyway! Not even a goblin would drink that poison! Mr. Machi wouldn't drink it even if you served it with a piece of grilled dhamel steak!"

"We have dhamel steak?" Machiavelo asked desparately but no one heard his question under all the argument.

Shoving his younger brother. "How do you know he wouldn't have drank it? You spilled it all over! You clutz, Logan!"

Before the two brothers were able to take it any further Machiavelo knew it was getting out of hand once again. These two always argued and had a tense sibling rivalry even when they were young with their parents. Machiavelo remembered when Kida and Samm announced they were having a child. That was when all of it occurred to him that they were all getting older and he too was gaining age. Since the death of these children's parents, he always felt that it was his responsibility to watch after the terrible three. "Logan, Jason, this is important," the wizard said. Suddenly the two turned their attention to the man sipping his chai.


	8. Chapter 8

_All of the foreign names such as San D'Oria, chocobo, etc. were taken and credited to Square-Enix's Final Fantasy XI. _

_A SAVAGE MISSION_

_It was very important for Machiavelo to seek out his members of the guard because all around the world, the Duchess' Alliance was falling. The Duchess of Jeuno, Reina, was falling to the might of what citizens call "The Second Coming."_

Reina earned the people's trust and loyalty through straight sincerity, and sheer motivation. The Duchess was a powerful speaker and was once a secretary for the President of Bastok. She first gained Jeuno's attention when she was given the task of overseeing certain plans taking place within the massive port city. Here she was eventually caught within a meeting between nations which included Volker of the Republic and Halver of SanDoria. What the actual meeting was about is a bit foggy but here Reina displayed her sense of tactical prowess among the two men. The two agreed with her on the issue and was soon promoted to Bastok's Head of Foreign Policies. Over the next three years, Reina managed to obtain contact and friendly negotiations with the Near Eastern country of Aht Urhgan, something no other nation in the middle lands were able to do previously. At the age of 26, her series of successful diplomatic skills and her ability to rally those who are down led to her ultimate position as the ArchDuchess of Jeuno. And as the first order of business to protect the peace of the world, Reina established the Avatar Linkshells.

The Astral Alliance or also known as the Alliance of Avatar Linkshells is a network of Linkshell communities that which carried out numerous tasks and oversaw the peace of VanaDiel. It was established and founded by the latest Archduchess of Jeuno, Reina. Each Linkshell was given a title representing a celestial avatar. Those avatar names were the code names used in association to each Linkshell. The Allied Linkshells are Titan's Defensive, Shiva's Soldiers, Carbuncle's Crusaders, The Waves of Leviathan, The Wraiths of Ramuh, Ifrit's Royal Guard and the Warriors of Garuda. Each group was given the certain name of a certain celestial being because each group possessed a specialty. The Titan's Defensive specialize in the absolute defense of each nation in the Quon and Mindartia continents often providing military help to the Temple Knights of SanDoria, the War Warlocks of Windurst and the Republican Legions of Bastok. They are at the absolute front of battle when it comes to the safety of home nations. That being said, the specialties of each Linkshell is obvious; Titan being defensive, Carbuncle as the diplomats, Leviathans as the primary force of magic, Shiva and Garuda squads acting as primary infantry when it came to deployment outside of home. The Wraiths, led by former Ifrit officer, Head Shinobi Araiden, act as a task force to carry out the ultimate will of Alliance of Altana which includes stealth infiltrations, tracking, reconnaissance and assassinations leaving Ifrit's Guard to provide extra assistance to the other Linkshells when needed. And that's exactly what was needed now.

During his travels, Machiavelo heard much talk of the ailing efforts of the Titan's Defensive as well as other Linkshell groups under the Avatar Alliance. He needed to desperately seek out the Duchess of Jeuno but he would be seized immediately if he were to turn up within the city. The Prince of SanDoria was already corrupting her highness and never before has Reina been under control during such warring times. Easily, she often fell for the deception of Peuje, believing in his famed strategic intellect. Since the fall of Bastok, she was convinced that an overhaul to her Avatar Alliance was needed. She was suspicious of course and questioned his proposals and even argued with the Prince several times, defending her city. But one thing that they both agreed on was the fact that one of her leaders of the Alliance could disband from his own country. She agreed that Machiavelo were a traitor for treason and even called upon the Wraiths of Ramuh to capture him. The wizard has been traveling for sometime now, often concealing his face with a hood and hardly speaking words to the unfamiliars. This way he avoided his hunters but his careful streak of evasion ended tonight.

Hooded in a dark cloak, Machiavelo walked quietly away from the home of his dearest friends, Kida and Samm Savage. He got what he wanted. Information. Information about the deaths of the children's parents and now he was off to continue his aggressive hunt for the Linkshell members. This journey was important to him, it was important to everyone.

When the wizard heard news of the Republic falling to the dark hordes, Machiavelo turned to the Prince of SanDoria to request assistance for the hume city. He was denied and without proper reason and so the redmage, enraged by the corrupt words of Peuje, the disappearance of Trion, the death of King Destin, the ignorance of the Kingdom's people; the redmage left the scarlet-decorated fortress. After three years of travel, searching for his Guard members, Machiavelo managed to obtain his own bounty. An enemy to the beastmen, a traitor to her Kingdom, a disappointment to the Republic, to his species of men, Machiavelo was trapped and surrounded by corrupt leaders, faulty decisions and out of friendly company. He traveled across the middle lands of Mindartia to Quon by feet and feathers of his chocobo. After a week of journey, Machiavelo began wishing the Teleports were open to travel but due to beastmen capture, each teleport crystal was heavily guarded by the enemies of Altana rendering them too dangerous for use. But, finally, when the wizard made it to the sea port station of Mhaura, a feeling of relief overcame him.

Mhaura was a place on the global map in which was not yet influenced by any faction. The small village was in the midst of evacuating it's citizens off the Mindartia continent for good and sailing straight towards Aradijah, home of the Aht Urhgan Empire. Here Machiavelo joined the evacuation. There were many members of Ifrit's Royal Guard living and working under the roof of her Empire. That is where he would go, he would visit the Savages. Machiavelo's relationship with Kida and Samm was a relationship that of a fantasy if anything. The Red Mage began to reminisce during his ride across sea.

The three, Kida, Samm, Machiavelo, grew up together after meeting for the first time in La Theine one day. Their chemistry clicked. Their personalities came together like a series of puzzles. They joined the Royal Guard around the same time, and eventually each of them became leaders of the Linkshell. When Kida and Samm had their first son, Machiavelo would often be over, chatting about his younger days and over time the red mage became part of the family. And as more time passed two more kids became part of the family. Machiavelo often referred to the kids as "The three terrible savage" siblings. The three offspring to the founders of Wild Savage Mercenary Corp.

The Wild Savage Mercenary Corp. of Aht Urhgan was a direct branch off the infamous Naja Salaheem's Salaheem's Sentinels. It all first started when the couple, Kida and Samm Wild Savage began their first tasks as mercenaries for the Eastern Empire. The crude mithra saw so much exceptional skill and intelligence in the two, after several years working as the top mercenaries, they were given their own branch of mercenaries to teach and employ. The W.S.M.C. was the absolute best of the best of Aht Urhgan's Empire. The corporation has under its belt several accomplished feats, but perhaps the most prestigious of all is the assassination of what the Mamool Ja call "The Autarch," the twin-headed Gulool Ja Ja. But the fame did not have an everlasting effect. With the death of the beastmen's head officer, the reptilian creatures were outraged and hunted savagely for Kida and Samm Wild Savage. The Mamool Ja often spent years and well over a decade to hunting the two and finally they had their chance. Just two years before Machiavelo stepped onto the ship headed towards the East, the Wild Savage co-founders were murdered. By who? There were no witnesses as the accompanying W.S.M.C. members were all wiped out leaving only the couple. According to their children, Kida had carried her husband home to Al Zahbi after a fierce fight holding off their attacker. But the medical log read it was too late. By the time the two made it back in town, too much blood had already been lost, and both were injured severely. With their children at their side, the two within each other's company, dying with hands clasped on one another, they breathed their final breath. Their final words were to their lovely children who they raised from the beginning to their end. With little financial help, and busy work schedules, the two earned the title of Parent Guardians. The two earned their title of friend. The two earned their title of Eternal Mercenaries. Kida and Samm Wild Savage earned their eternal peace. They died without regret, they knew that their children would be more successful than they could ever imagine.

Jason was the oldest out of the three Savage siblings. Between he and his brother, Logan, he was not as in tune with a blade, but more sharp with his brain. When he was little growing up in Windurst, the academics were always very difficult and being a hume, he was surpassed by tarutaru intellect. But with determination and direct instruction as well as criticism from Lady Shantotto, Jason, at the age of 20 was becoming a very skilled wizard himself. He often looked up to his father and Machiavelo as his role models and always took it upon himself to lecture his younger siblings even when lectures were certainly not welcome. Jason carried a strong-willed confidence in which he found to be very proud of but his brother just found annoying.

Logan. Logan was often overshadowed by his older brother in terms of academics, popularity and athletic skill early on. He was often competing for attention with his sister Samantha as well but with her he did not mind much. Out of the two brothers Logan was the more sensitive one, often showing much more gentleness towards his younger sibling. But kindness came easy for Logan as he spent a lot of time around the magnificent tree and its many peaceful wizards that stood in the middle of Windurst. Like his brother, Logan was very intelligent under Windurstian policies but he had a hunger to outshine his brother. He would practice late at night, with wooden swords when he was little. And now at the age of 18, Logan was the better swordsman than his brother. More toned physically and being the quiet nature that he is, girls often found interest in him more often than Jason.

The youngest Savage Sibling, Samantha, is not much like other 17 year old girls. She doesn't spend hours getting dressed and fixing her hair. She doesn't wear any fragrances. Samantha Rose Wild Savage was a very independent young woman. She's self relying, she fixes her brothers meals, snaps at them when they need to straighten out and being the best combatant out of the three, she would occasionally throw objects possessing sharp points towards them with great hysterical pleasure. Though often times she would lose it in the household and become red angry with her baffling brothers, she would break down in front of an unfamiliar crowd. Break down meaning, Samantha Rose was terribly shy at times when it came to strangers, only able to bring her confidence out for people whom she was comfortable around. Her mother was the only female figure she looked up to for the majority of her life and when Kida died, Samantha suddenly was not tolerant of things as she used to be. Her mother may have passed away, but the fiery, yet gentleness of Kida flows through Samantha more so now than ever before.

Those were his thoughts as he made his way into the night, feet echoing in the slick silence that was the dim, moonlit city of the whitegate. Machiavelo had stayed with the Savage Siblings for a days pass before he sent off a prayer for them and sneaked out. The wizard left at such a late hour because he did not want to worry the kids of what he was after, what his journey held. But mainly, it was difficult for him to leave the children if proper goodbyes were intact, those three meant a lot to him and Machiavelo knew it was his responsibility to watch over the three. He knew they would be safe and so he left. The rain had ceased and no one was awake but the wizard. He walked quietly between alleys of rent rooms and homes constructed in this slum part of town. The sewage was gargling by his feet collecting dirty rainwater as well as other particles of waste.

The sound of footsteps over the wet pavement ceased as Machiavelo froze in place. He was surrounded by two masses of granite white stones which made up the two residential buildings. His surroundings were dark, damp and eerily lacking any disturbance for human ears to read. His hooded cloak stood in the darkness. The wizard waited in silence. Patiently listening to the dripping of rooftops in which water slid, but nothing.

A finely crafted dagger lunged into the back of Machiavelo's cloak, piercing through its seams, breaking the magic bonds it held in place. Just as the garment was struck another weapon was thrown and it hit its mark at least, from the wizard's view it did. Machiavelo tracked the projection thrown at his cloak back to its originating point and hurled himself at the figure he saw wearing the shadows. In the darkness the two wrestled until the Mage of SanDoria won the weight contest with a steel tipped blade pointed at the back of his enemy. Machiavelo had his opponent in a headlock from behind, strangling him with muscle as well as holding the man hostage for silent questioning.

In the dim light of shadowed alleys, Machiavelo could only see the backside of his attacker's head. The man was hooded in dark robes but at the same time this man was surely elvaan as he possessed the ears to hold such genetics. The wizard thought to himself that this enemy must of been a Wraith of Ramuh sent to capture him as he noticed the patched designs on the hood of his capture.

Machiavelo spoke softly yet angrily at the ear of the wraith. "Are you with Ramuh?" he questioned. He asked his captive again but no response. The wizard did not have time for hold ups in the middle of the night and so instantly, Machiavelo began heating his blade in preparation of an execution. Within seconds, the mage's body tensed up and aggressively shoved his burning blade into the back of his prey, glowing and sizzling as sprinkles of the sky's water reserves gently fell again. Like a trained mercenary, the wizard checked to confirm his kill but the body he was holding vanished into shadow and smoke.

"You're not the only one with tricks, Machi," a deathly familiar voice whispered. This voice felt like it had came from all angles, all degrees of physics as if it were a voice lodged in the very mind of the wizard himself. "Shadow Vanish. C'mon Machi. You didn't think I would fall for your cloak and dagger trick did you?"

Machiavelo realized the voice. A ghost of the past. A dead man's voice. "Kile," he managed to utter as he stood like a tree rooted to the concrete below.

"How have you been old friend? I was hoping we would meet again under different circumstances-"

"You died. I- How is this possible?" Machiavelo said hesitantly. "You can't be Kile. Where did you get the jacket of a Wraith?" The wizard stood in the dark alley, blade ablaze, stones crawling under his silent command. Machiavelo was ready to defend himself from this unseen creature.

"Oh well let's just say I visited some of our friends before I came to see you. I hope the feeling of jealousy does not overwhelm you, friend. We chatted about old times and these horrible times now. But Machi, how come every time I visit someone from the Guard, I'm greeted by a look of confusion and, well yes, just like the one I see on yours now. How could friends treat friends this way? Those aren't friends I realized and so-"

"You killed them. Didn't you?" the wizard figured. "You're the one that has been hunting the Alliance members. It wasn't the Wraiths at all."

"Well not quite old friend. You've always been so sharp and quick to pick things up you know. But you're right… I killed them. Shiroken, Yllibas… Araiden gave me this magnificent coat as well. Araiden was traitor like you Machi. Except he didn't run from the Prince's beliefs, he saw he corrupt Peuje and with his disgusting wraiths he attempted to take his highness' life. 'For the sake of SanDoria' he preached and preached before he was ultimately executed as a traitor. Now, I agree. That Prince is completely rubbish, more so than I, well, possibly… But that's not the point. Thanks to him and his dealings with the Twilight God himself, I've been resurrected as a direct hand. Now if it were me, Peuje would of have been gone quite some time ago, but him being my ultimate summoner, I must obey his commands and until my binds are broken, I am a puppet. I'm sorry Machi, it's such a tragedy to have to end you here. I never liked this city anyway, but I'll tell you what. My objective is to eliminate main threats from the Avatar Alliance. You being a leader of a Linkshell in association to the Alliance, you can tell me where the other captains are. Please old friend, once all of the requested names are crossed out, I will finally be free of the Prince's bind."

"What type of deal is that? If you're objective is to eliminate the captains of each Avatar Linkshell, then you're going to have to kill me as well. I would never tell you, impostor," Machiavelo replied as if he were speaking to the air as he could not see Kile.

"Fine fine. I guess I'll track them myself. Besides finding you here was a bonus to me."

"You're not here for me?"

"I came to finish a job from a couple of years ago… The elimination of the Savage family. You see that family is just too dangerous to keep around. The superiors upstairs agreed that there cannot be anymore skilled mercenaries like the Savages. So-"

Machiavelo tensed and his eyes widened in shock. "You killed them? It was you? But the Mamool-"

"Mamool? Mamool! You would think I would let Mamool claim my mission successes? You know for such a small figure, Kida was resilient, more so than Samm, and to think we called him our brother, Machi." Kile's chuckles rang softly within Machiavelo's ears. "Well, Machi, you've been through a lot these past couple of years haven't you. If only you would of just stayed in your home the night I burnt it down and you wouldn't have had to suffered all of this. But I'm going to be kind. I'll let you go today old friend but next time I will have to fulfill my mission."

"What will happen when the Alliance is to be defeated? When you finish your mission?" Machiavelo asked angrily.

"Once the Alliance falls, it'll be that much easier for the nations to fall. And once they see that SanDoria is the only standing city, all will join under one flag. And once that happens, I'll be free, immortal. But I don't want to tell you the specifics of that old friend. Goodbye and say hello to the kiddies for me would you?" Kile's voice was no longer present at the alley. The only sounds that were flooding into Machiavelo's ears were his sizzling blade, the sprinkles and his heart thumping.

After the run in with the cursed voice of Kile, Machiavelo could find no trace but he had no time. The wizard raced back towards the home he stayed the night before. His heart raced in anticipation to what was to be either a massacre within the entire apartment complex or the assassination of his friends' children. He bashed the door in easily to be greeted by a room of thrashed furniture, charred walls, broken objects and a whimper. Samantha was bent over the bodies of her two older brothers on the crashed floorboards. She stared up at Machiavelo, tears creating streams down her beaten face.

Samantha sobbed. "I wasn't strong enough," said the youngest and only surviving member of her family.


	9. Chapter 9

_All of the foreign names such as San D'Oria, chocobo, etc. were taken and credited to Square-Enix's Final Fantasy XI._

_This was not editted. I just wrote it._

The moon light above shined brightly. The people of Sandoria were fast asleep under the Scarlett flag. Asleep they were but not without a certain degree of angst and worry. Soon the troops would set sail across the vast ocean east of the nation of Windurst. This would be the largest offensive her Kingdom would launch in recent history. A fleet of over forty thousand Royal Knights would travel to the Aradjiah continent where the great Serpeant slept. The time was now. Prince Peauje had given the orders and like any righteous soldier, there would be no second thoughts. The will of the Prince was theirs to hold and theirs to see through. There would be no arguing royalty would there?

Sandoria had taken control of the majority of regions located within the Middlelands. The Republic of Bastok had been liberated and now free of any hostile Beastmen. At times people began to hail the Prince as a savior of Vanadiel. But as the people worshiped him, he worshiped a much darker force. Over time his anger and jealousy for his brother's recognition fueled his will to bring peace to the Kingdom. It became a fierce competition but not a game of ball played by young boys but a game of risk played with nations and blood. To Peauje this sibling rivalry became a contest to see which of the brothers would bring absolute peace and union to the land first. Now he finally saw his goal creeping closer and closer to him as he dealt in the shadows with Beastmen and the Twilight. It was worth it he thought. He realized that to make such incredible strides of success one must take big risks. And he risked his people to have his name immortalized in history as the bringer of peace. It was actually ingenious to use the Beastmen Confederate forces to weaken his enemies before the knights went in and finished the job. But what would the Beastmen get for such work? How could such a man even cut a deal with these savages? Well, when you have the help of a God on your side anything is possible.

As the morning rose, the troopers rose with it. The Knights in their armor boarded the fleet of airships at the port as women and young children wiped their tears. The priests sent out their prayers for a safe return to all of the brave men called to action. Some cheered for their knights where others shook their head in dismay thinking just how could such a thing happen. It was as good as sending your loved ones out to get killed some thought. And killed over what? For some acres of land? For money? For "peace" and to better the world? There were many skeptics on this particular attack. The people of Sandoria understood what was going on since they spent the last four years in fear of aggressive Beastmen attacks. Ever since they heard about the fall of the humes in the south people became more alert of their surroundings. Suddenly they realized the lovely world was not as happy and easy as they had hoped. But this was the order of the Prince. The supreme ruler of the Kingdom while the King was sick in bed.

For many years King Destin has been falling ill. His time was at an end. The people knew that. And he knew which of his sons to pass the throne to. Up until about two years ago, Trion was to take the throne. But now seeing as Trion is missing and Peauje has saved the Middlelands from Beastmen Forces, the younger prince was the rightful choice to take the title of King. Barely could Destin move from his bed. He was in a state of paralysis and with that he could only feel that he was already in his own coffin. He would pass in the palace, this he knew was certain but as he advised his remaining son on war tactics and strategy he began to wonder. He began to wonder what it was like when he was able to walk around his kingdom to see the children laughing, the merchants shouting and the women smiling. He was envious of his son. He couldn't face the fact that the mighty spell of age had taken him. Every day he would council Peauje and every day he would grow more and more hungry for the step in his feet again. But even though he had Peauje carry out his tactical advise, every now and then he would feel proud. Proud of his son because Peauje did what he could never do. Peauje had conquered more in the last three years than Destin did in his entire time at the throne.

"It's almost time."

"Yes, soon the fleet will be ready and we'll launch the offensive. Let us not assume that the enemy is completely oblivious to our plans. I'm sure that information has been passed already. In such a time, the world is never without two-headed snakes."

"By the end of this we'll have one less snake to deal with. And by the end of this I'll have my life back and with a hint of godlike qualities to boot."

"Let's not get our hopes up now. You're not entirely done with your assignment. You have one more left."

"Machiavelo will be done before the ships even reach the shore."

"I still wonder why you let him live. You just had to get those kids didn't you? Don't let your emotions sway your path. You won't ever get her back if you don't finish the job... You know, after the last encounter with Captain Araiden, I'm beginning to think that killer instinct of yours has dwindled. He almost killed you. You aren't second guessing yourself now are you?"

"Please, my old friend Arai stood no chance. And Machiavelo will fall. You see, I know him. I know how he thinks. Taking out those kids were as good as stab in the chest for ol' Machi. I promise you this. He will die before the blades of Sandoria meet Aht Urhgan. I promise you my prince."

Tog, Galliant and the woman were all on the defensive as this monstrous being had made its way towards them after eliminating the guards. The Dark Wolf of Wajaom. That's what the towns folks were calling a "ten foot tall wolf man" seeing prancing around at night within the Woodlands. The last year or so these sightings have made its way into the intelligence of the Immortal Guard of Aht Urhgan. The Empire could not have such an unpredictable threat roaming the surrounding forestry where a majority of its people adventured out. But the Immortals had bigger things on their list of priorities than some mythical creature of the Moon. Maybe the Empire should have placed the monstrosity on a higher point of the list? The wolf had penetrated into the dungeon and killed several guards already. And here it was standing next to potential victims. The Dark Wolf stared at the galka, Tog and the woman as its saliva slipped down and its tongue tasted the metal bars of the cell door. The Wolf would soon bend the bars themselves and give out a frightful roar that surely awoke the surrounding neighborhood. With enough room to make its way into the cell and grab its prey the wolf began to create numerous gestures and disturbing gargles. It had a foot within the cell and was ready to proceed with its plans but it was spooked and escaped out a nearby window.

The knight and the pirate looked at each other wide-eyed while grasping each other's shoulders tightly for safety then they looked toward the woman they had shared a cell with. Realizing that they had probably looked quite awkward in front of their female cell mate they dropped the fierce grip on each other. "That was quite strange now wasn't it?" Galliant said slyly.

They all noticed the wide enough space to escape from the cell and so one by one they made their way out into the city. But before they could think of a place to escape to for safety smoke was lit surrounding them and hindering their sight. In front of them appeared four hazy bodies of blue. The Immortal guards. The Empire's sentinels have come to recapture the escapees. The three prisoners saw the guards rushing forward with blades out and so the three ran out of the smoked area and into a clearing. The ground was slick from the rain and the street lamps were dead since it was close to sunrise but not quite yet. The three continued to run without weapons or any type of defense until they reached the port of Aht Urhgan. The sea was dark and the port lights were lit providing an eerie view of the black waves in the night. Galliant, a seasoned corsair knew all about the Empire's pathways and shortcuts and lead them to a passage way. This passage lead the three into the Bhaflau Thickets and they ran and ran.

The forest at this time of day was chill and dew hung on the vegetation and trees. The animals were out and about looking for food and the three prisoners were no longer prisoners. They ran deep within the forest but unfortunately were met with the Immortals once again.

Tog, alike his companions was stripped of any proper armor and weapons. The three were defenseless and exhausted. "How do they do that?" he said panting bent over.

Galliant leaned up against a tree. "They are too fast. They have the entire forests mapped out. Bunche cheaters they are! The lotta ya!"

The woman had her fists up ready to fight back with all she had. "I can't believe this! Help me fight when they get close, you idiots!"

And the Immortals were ready to strike. There were five of them now and they formed a circle around the three escapees. But before the captain could order an attack he was dissembled. In a flash the blue mage was ripped of an arm and tossed out into the forest like toy. The furry figure of the Dark Wolf soared through the trees displaying extreme finesse and agility as it quickly eyed its next target. The Wolf's eyes flashed a bright golden as it was readying to strike. The Immortals formed together and began casting their magic to protect themselves from this unexpected enemy. Their swords were drawn and had their eyes set on the wolf. The wolf jumped from its tree and down onto the guards where the blue men were swinging wildly at such a beast.

The woman and the two others noticed something very strange. The Immortals were swinging at nothing at all as they saw the Wolf was still perched up in its tree. She noticed this illusionary spell it had cast upon their enemy and with that, the three made their run away from the situation. No longer could the three see any signs of the Empire's officers but in front of them they noticed the Wolf had caught up with them. The Dark Wolf dropped down in front of the three from atop a tree and began to make the same gestures it had earlier. The beast began to gargle and cringe as it seemed to be in unimaginable pain. Its bones began to crunch and soon the three witnessed something only few lived to see. The transformation. The skin on the Dark Wolf began to char and burn into ash as its skeleton reassembled itself from within. It roared and growled and eventually screamed like a man. In the end the Wolf died leaving only a man. A man Tog immediately recognized. Caezar.

After convincing the other two that this man was an ally, they decided to carry the unconscious Caezar with them to a safe location. Finally Caezar, the Immortal awoke. Tog could not believe what happened the night before and he could not believe what Caezar had done to himself.

The man told the three escapees of his journey. His life and why he volunteered to undergo advanced alchemy fusing his blood with that of the ancient gnole species. Caezar was at a difficult time in his life. He was a warrior, a true soldier. He gave his entire life to the Empire. He always wanted to prove something and he did. Finally he made Captain within the rankings of the Immortal Guard. He remembered the trials that an Immortal would have to undergo. The painful experiments and blood fusions that would give a trooper unparalleled strength and unbelievable side effects. He did this all for the Empire. He felt that if he were an Immortal he would be able to save people's lives. He would be everything his family thought he wouldn't be. Successful. And he certainly was. For over fifteen years he has been a devoted soldier to the Empire. And finally he was promoted to Captain. But when given the corrupt orders of assassinating his own country men for the "greater good" he began to question what was right and what was wrong. Finally he had achieved something and made a name for himself but was he ready to perform the tasks asked of him? Was he ready to choose between fame and honesty? Caezar's emotions were as complex and confused as his own blood. His blood was mixed and he himself was a product of the Empire. After the first experiment with the wolf breed it went terribly wrong. Caezar gained the ability to transform and mutate into a hideous wolf when extremely excited. When in this wolf form his emotions and thoughts are out of human control. He was then seen as an Immortal gone wrong and was supposed to be killed. Betrayed by his own men. The people he devoted his life to serve he felt a sense of incredible bitterness and anger. What did he have left? Why did he work so hard for something that just backfired on him? The Blue Mages responsible for eliminating him all died and left Caezar roaming the woods to feed off of entire marids and flocks of colibri.

"I can't do this anymore, Toggo," Caezar said in dismay. "I can't control this."

Tog gave out a sigh. "Well mate. At least I've found some one familiar out here," he said with a hand on Caezar's shoulder. "Now I can finally fulfill apart of my assignment."

Caezar looked up at his friend with a quizzed eyebrow.

"I've come with an important message," Tog whispered. "A message from the Prince of Sandoria. Something big is about to happen and many people are in danger. We must find Machiavelo."

Machiavelo gathered his things and stood up facing the soil beneath him. The ground was bulging from the burials and the leaves from the thicket were already beginning to sprinkle the graves. With each step in this thick forest a crunch would follow as the crispy season of Fall brought death to the leaves. He stood there for a long while looking down on these graves. The graves of two young men whom he was responsible for. He was given the task and he knew he had failed his friends' last wishes.

Behind Machiavelo Samantha weeped and mourned for her brothers. Both of them had been in the middle of the thickets since sunrise. Now it was closing in on the sunset. The skies had changed into a brilliant orange and sapphire ready to dive into a flourish of blue shades and sparkling stars. Machiavelo spent the entire day digging the graves and when they were finally properly buried Samantha gave one final tear-filled goodbye.

Samantha sobbed and tried to talk between her heavy breathing and tears. "I know you can't hear me guys. But I'm going to say it anyways. I love you both and I hope that where ever you go that you will forgive me. Forgive me for being so weak. Forgive me for being so stupid... You guys were the only family I had. You watched over me and even though you guys teased me and called me a "little booger" those were the happiest moments in my life. I'll always be your little booger sister and I'll get that man for you guys. I promise I will do to him what he did to do you!" now screaming she clenched her fists and began to break down on her knees. "I'm so sorry."

Machiavelo comforted her the best he could and soon they were headed back into the city.

"Teach me how to fight," Samantha demanded.

Machiavelo looked at the young girl and felt sorry for her. Here was a 17 year old girl who will now never get to experience the things a 17 year old girl were supposed to. But at the same time, she will have experienced many more things in the next five years than anyone in the entire world. Machiavelo did not want to take upon any type of apprentice but instructing the girl in some basics of self defense and magic would certainly both their chances of survival he thought. The blood of Kida and Samm was in her and now more than ever, Machiavelo had to repay his old friends for the losses. "I don't like the idea of little girls fighting but you are your mother. Since we'll be traveling together now, you'll naturally pick things up anyway."

Samantha's face brightened up just by a hair and even the smallest sense of happiness would help Machiavelo get through his guilt.

Samantha gathered her things from her broken home and tossed over her head a cloak that which hooded her tearful face. Machiavelo decided that the only thing to do now is to take the girl with him on his search. With a sharp blade at his side, a mindful of knowledge and his hat, Samantha and he set out to find his contacts.

Machiavelo spent the next week hunting his contact with Samantha following close behind him. For Samantha traveling like this and living in the wild and off the land was something new and different. It was not an easy change for her. Sure she was a tough young woman but she was still a woman. Often her mood was troubling her as she had a difficult time sleeping in such places as in trees and in small caves. She had always dreamed of escaping her home and having to deal with feeding her brothers and that day finally came. But this was not what she had hoped for. It was different. She began questioning her faith in the Goddess. It made sense to her. How could people be so stupid and ignorant she thought? She just wanted to go up to every priest she saw and yell in their face, "How could you worship somebody that you've never even seen or talked to before?" She's never seen Altana in person before. And all her life she's been sending prayers. Prayers for safety and success. Had her prayers been answered? No they haven't! It's all just a ruse she thought. "No!" she yelled. Her eyes opened and she found herself awake from a terrible dream. She was in a dark enclosing with light rays seeping through from all around. Ahead of her she saw the lush green forest shine through from beyond her makeshift bedroom. Sitting outside was Machiavelo in his robes tending to a small fire. She remembered this dream of hers but she soon realized that this dream was real. Her family was gone and she was the only one left. She made up her mind, there was no Goddess.

Machiavelo was sitting next to a small fire while the daylight shone brightly above the canopy. Samantha walked out into the open to join the wizard. The night before they had made camp within a hollowed tree trunk. It was small enough to fit the girl so the magician made bed from outside. Samantha looked around her and looked at her clothes that had been rustled and caught with the hints of travel. She was hungry as she found out that traveling with a Master Red Mage was not all it was made up to be. She remembered her dream and felt terrible sad then angry. Machiavelo began to say a few words in silence before taking the hare out of the fire. It was a prayer.

Samantha did not believe in prayers anymore. She knew only one thing was certain in life. That one thing was that the only element that drives one's life is themselves and nothing else. There was no powerful being that dictated the world and there was no such magic that would provide good luck. To her it was all a myth. "Why did you pray?" she asked the wizard pulling out the burnt hare meat.

He looked at the young girl and scanned her face for any sign of happiness. There was none. "I pray because Altana blesses us with life, with this food so that we can keep on going with our lives. Why do you ask?"

"I used to pray too Mr. Machi. But not anymore," she answered with assurance in her voice. "How do you know your prayers are being heard?"

Machiavelo was met with puzzlement. He paused from slicing the meat with his dagger to contemplate the question and then continued again. "I don't know," he said finally. "Why don't you pray anymore?"

"It's not worth the trouble," she replied. "Why get your hopes up for something that isn't even real. Why would you set yourself up for failure like that? Why would you pray?" tears began to flood her eyes and her voice trembled as she couldn't rid the thought of her brothers from her mind.

"I pray because of just that," the Master Mage said with wisdom. "Hope. I pray because of hope. Prayers may not come true and who knows maybe gods and goddesses are just ideas but everyone needs something to hope for. It's what makes you who you are. It's in our souls. Hope gives people the drive to continue pushing forward even in the most difficult of times. It is something you can believe in, something to shoot for, to hang on to. And you don't have to pray. That's OK. But you must have hope. That's why I pray."

Samantha took off her hood from her cloak revealing her messy hair and watered eyes. She wiped her tears away with her hands. "I think I understand now Mr. Machi."


End file.
